The Cost of Transporting Grain by Truck in South Dakota with Special Reference to Proposed Rail Line Abandonment

The objectives of this thesis are: 1. Estimate the cost equations of transporting grain by farm truck and semi-trailer truck in South Dakota, 2. Estimate the cost of transporting grain by farm truck in the Watertown to Doland and Watertown to Stratford branch line market areas, and 3. Use the results of objectives 1 and 2 to evaluate various alternatives if branch line abandonment occurs in the above market areas. The alternatives to be studied are: a. Trucking grain to the nearest elevator without rail service and receiving less for grain, b. Trucking grain to the nearest elevator with rail service and thereby increasing transportation costs to the farmer, and c. The purchase of semi-trailer trucks by local grain elevator managers