Kent Conrad: “on another matter, we learned yesterday that Canada is banning all imports of United States durum as a result of the…”

“on another matter, we learned yesterday that Canada is banning all imports of United States durum as a result of the karnal bunt fungus found in Arizona. Mr. President, this ban means that no durum may be exported to Canada. Durum is the wheat that makes pasta. So all the pasta lovers should understand most of the durum that makes pasta in this country is grown in North Dakota. Eighty-seven percent of the durum wheat that makes pasta is grown in North Dakota. And our Canadian friends from the north have now banned all imports of U.S. durum wheat. What does that mean? Well, it means a lot. It means that our durum is not going to be able to leave through the Great Lakes. That is where the grain that is grown in North Dakota and the rest of the Midwest is transferred to what we call lakers, ships that go on the lake to transoceanic vessels. Those transfers are made in Canadian ports. This ban will mean that our grain cannot leave through those Canadian ports. That means our grain is going to have to go south through the gulf adding a lot of cost and expense. That means we are going to be less competitive against the Canadians. Mr. President, one might understand what the Canadians are doing here if in some way they were threatened. They themselves have acknowledged they are not threatened. They themselves have acknowledged that karnal bunt cannot survive in the cold of Canada. And there is no karnal bunt that has been found in the Midwest.”