advertisement

---

The South Dakota Corn Growers Association (SDCGA) recently presented Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corp. (DM&E) President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Schieffer the Most Valuable Player in Agriculture Award, which recognizes an individual's or organization's efforts to advance the agricultural industry.

The association honored Schieffer for the "tremendous impacts he has made in the industry over the past two decades," such as by providing South Dakota corn producers access to affordable transportation and connections to two Class Is, SDCGA said.

He helped create the DM&E in 1986 after convincing the Chicago & North Western Railroad to sell instead of abandon lines running through the heart of South Dakota. Under Schieffer's leadership, the DM&E has grown into the nation's largest Class II, with more than 1,000 employees, 2,500 miles of track in eight states and annual traffic totaling 280,000 carloads, the association said.

In addition, Schieffer has helped the DM&E embrace and grow ethanol traffic. In 2000, the regional moved 150 carloads of ethanol; in 2007, the railroad handled about 17,000 carloads. The DM&E serves seven ethanol plants, and another five are under construction on its lines.

Finally, the SDCGA cited Scheiffer's role in arranging a deal last September to merge the DM&E with Canadian Pacific Railway. The Surface Transportation Board is scrutinizing the deal.

"This move gives South Dakota and our agricultural industry greater access to the Northeast and Pacific Northwest, and the granddaddy of it all — competition," SDCGA officials said in a prepared statement. "The SDCGA applauds Schieffer for having the tenacity and commitment to have given agriculture and the entire state of South Dakota unlimited opportunities."