bild
The shadow of the Continental Grain elevator in Shelton, Neb., is cast across a pile of corn Thursday, Oct. 24, 1997, as Vernon Resh (from left), Jim Ripp and Clarence Minor wait for a truck of corn to empty. Rick Sorensen, manager of the elevator, said as of Thursday there were approximately 700,000 bushels of of corn stored on the ground there. Bumper harvests in several farm states have forced elevators to dump grain on the ground, and now a rail car shortage is keeping it there. Blaming the problem on Union Pacific Railroad's merger with Southern Pacific, Midwestern lawmakers are asking federal officials for priority status for their states' elevators and export stations to allow shipments to port facilities. (KEYSTONE/AP Photo/The Grand Island Independent/Gerik Parmele)