FARGO (AP) - Federal regulators hosted a hearing in Fargo on complaints about delays in shipping fertilizer and grain by rail as oil shipments are taking up increasing space on American railroads.
The Surface Transportation Board directed Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. and BNSF Railway to appear Thursday.
State Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring is scheduled to testified before the board.
Farmers and some politicians believe the increased crude oil and freight shipments from North Dakota's western oil fields are largely the cause of shipping delays, which have created big backlogs at grain elevators and added costs for agriculture shippers.