SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Some South Dakota farmers say North Dakota's Bakken oil field has created a shortage of rail engines and crews to move harvested grain to market.
A group of farmers during a Tuesday press conference said the issue has reached a critical point. They say they want President Barack Obama to issue an executive order calling a railroad company to send engines to South Dakota to haul the hundreds of railcars that are waiting to be moved.
The farmers have singled out BNSF Railway, but the company says it isn't favoring crude shipments over other shippers such as agriculture.
BNSF is the biggest player in the rich oil fields of North Dakota and Montana, hauling the bulk of the crude out of the region and the inbound freight that supports oil drilling.
