The news Tuesday that the second richest man in America bought Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad certainly caught the attention of many here in North Dakota.

Warren Burffet's company Berkshire Hathaway put up 34 billion dollars to buy the Forth Worth, Texas Based railroad company, a company that is also our states largest rail shipper.

(Dan Derouchey, Berthold Farmers Elevator Manager) "I think they're percentage of business on Ag products is somewhere around 38 percent is moved by the Burlington Northern compared to about 28 percent with CP."


Berthold Farmers Elevator manager Dan Derouchey says he and others that utilize BNSF to ship a their grain are continuing to watch the development of the purchase.

Derouchey says Berthold Farmers ships out about 2 shuttle trains a month on the BN line which in the terms of revenue means about a half million dollars a train for the railroad.

(Dan Derouchey, Berthold Farmers Elevator Manager) "So just a small shipper like us, you know it's a fair amount of dollars that we do in business with the BN.

Derouchey says there is a little bit of apprehension though about the buyout of BNSF by Buffett especially concerning shipping rates.

(Dan Derouchey, Berthold Farmers Elevator Manager) "I'm a little bit apprehensive about the investment, the return on investment if that's going to if that's going to be mean higher rates or what that does but you know obviously someone that's investing that type of money he's going to want a return on the investment and I'm a little bit concerned on how that's going to pay out."


Very little else is being said yet about the deal from either BNSF or Berkshire Hathaway and the deal still has to be approved by outstanding shareholders and a Department of Justice review.

For now Elevators and other shippers on the BN lines will just have to watch and wait to see how the sale of North Dakota's largest shipper plays out.

With Your Eye On Agriculture, Shaun Sipma KX News. watch the video | save this article / add to your favorites list