No local potatoes?

When I went to the store today, the peaches were from Utah rather than Colorado. This may have been because of climate; the peach season in Colorado was actually longer than usual this year. But I am often surprised at how hard it it is to get food that is grown in state. Potatoes keep all year and grow well in some parts of the state. I can get potatoes from Idaho and Michigan all year round, why not from Colorado? Do they all sell before the end of the season?

We cannot grow enough food here in Colorado to feed ourselves, our growing season is too short. Even states that have more farm-friendly climates import a lot of food because people in the US are used to having the same foods in their supermarkets year round. Most of this food is shipped by truck, and some fresh food companies are having a hard time finding trucks to transport their goods. This may be because higher diesel prices have made things harder for trucking companies, meaning that there are fewer trucks out there.

Whatever the reason, train companies, such as Railex, are filling the gap. Each Railex train takes 200 trucks off our highways which reduces traffic congestion, making all forms of transportation more reliable. It also means that the states that rail serves have a more flexible food delivery system. If food can't get where it needs to go by truck, a train can bring it before it rots.

Colorado is particularly dependent on trucks for our food. Some grain is shipped by rail, usually heading out of state, but vegetable and fruits usually come in by truck. Railex does not ship here.

Trains not only add depth to our transportation system, they have the additional benefit of being more environmentally friendly than trucks. A Railex train uses a third the diesel fuel that those 200 trucks do and produces a third the greenhouse gases. For companies like Albert's Organics, this is important.

But services like Railex need a certain kind of infrastructure to work. Tracks need to be smooth so that food does not get bruised in transport. The trains need to be able to go fast, more like passenger trains, so that the produce does not rot before it can be sold. The slow speed of a coal train does not work. There also needs to be the capacity to load and unload trains indoors. That I know of, these conditions can only be met in California, Washington, New York with a new distribution center coming in the southeast (North Carolina?). Illinois may have the tracks that can meet this demand, but may not have the proper warehouse capacity anymore.

How does this influence what foods we can get in our supermarkets? It means that farmers in the states of California, Washington, and New York know that they can distribute fresh foods and vegetables around the country, no matter what happens to our transportation system. It means that distributors operating in those states can boast about being environmentally sensitive and sustainable in a way that distributors in other states cannot. It means that it is always worth more to invest in agriculture in states with good rail infrastructure even when the climate and soil conditions are comparable (or even better) elsewhere.

It means that our uneven infrastructure promotes the centralization of agriculture. If we want a more balanced food supply, which includes being able to buy local when we are buying produce that grows well where we live, we need to have more consistent rail infrastructure. If rail in Colorado is only good for coal trains, that is the only thing that they will carry. And all the businesses that could benefit from good trains will go elsewhere.