Harvest Exemption Approved For Grain Haulers

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) today granted a waiver for farmers working to harvest and transport grain to storage facilities. The declaration will allow farmers to increase the weight allowable for shipment of corn and other commodities by 10 percent.

“As soon as fields are dry enough, combines will start rolling again,” said Missouri Corn Growers Association President Kevin Hurst of Tarkio, Mo. “With this year’s narrowing harvest window, the waiver will enable growers to get crops out of the fields and transported to storage quickly to prevent crop loss. We appreciate Governor Jay Nixon, the Missouri Department of Agriculture and the Missouri Department of Transportation for responding to our request.”

The waiver will remain in effect for 60 days. Overweight permits are not required. All other traffic and motor carrier regulations remain in place. This waiver is in effect through midnight, Dec. 14, 2014.

With MoDOT’s declaration, participating farmers will be required to abide by the following:

• A loaded, gross weight no greater than 10 percent above the gross licensed weight of the commercial motor vehicle;

• Transport of commodities from the farm to another facility, transportation between facilities and empty return trips on non-interstate highways within the state;

• When crossing a bridge, the driver must restrict the vehicle speed to no more than 30 miles per hour and must center the truck between two lanes of the bridge. The truck driver must yield to oncoming traffic.

Missouri’s corn crop is expected to set a new statewide record according to the Oct. 10 forecast from the United States Department of Agriculture. Show-Me State growers are on track to harvest a projected 599 million bushels of corn, easily surpassing the previous record of 466.5 million bushels set in 2004. Nationwide, corn farmers are expected to harvest 14.5 billion bushels. This is also a new production record.

Visit www.mocorn.org to learn more about the Missouri corn industry. For motor carriers with waiver questions, call MoDOT Motor Carrier Services at 1-800-877-8499.