Lawsuit Claims Rail Fee Blocks Competition, Cuts Plains Farmers’ Grain Prices

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 20:42:04 GMT

In a lawsuit filed in late January in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, two agribusiness plaintiffs and 13 farmers allege antitrust violations by a Class I railroad, Union Pacific, and a short-line operator, Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad.

Plaintiffs include Weskan Grain and Colorado Pacific Railroad, along with D&L Farms, GP; E&D Farms, GP; D&C Farms, GP; L&E Farms, GP; North Four Farms, GP; Marienthal Grain, LLC; D&A Farms, GP; Hineman Land & Cattle, Inc.; Hineman Ranch, L.L.C.; Circle C Farms, Inc.; Steven Compton; Mark Sanders; and JLD Partnership.

The lawsuit alleges UP and K&O worked together to stifle competition after Colorado Pacific Railroad rehabilitated the Towner Line. Plaintiffs claim the alleged conduct gave the railroads unfair control over westbound grain shipments — affecting the prices farmers receive for grain in Lane, Scott, Wichita, and Greeley Counties in Kansas and Kiowa County, Colo.

Union Pacific provided this statement, noting its view that the matter falls under the Surface Transportation Board’s purview: “Union Pacific denies the allegations of the lawsuit and will present the facts to the court and Surface Transportation Board who handles these issues.”

Will Bramblett, CEO of Weskan Grain, said after Soloviev Group acquired Colorado Pacific Railroad, Union Pacific and K&O put in place what he described as a “paper barrier” that makes interchange across the Kansas-Colorado line uneconomic–reportedly over $500 per car.

“What we’re trying to do is just get a more competitive environment for our local producers — farmers in the area — to be able to ship grain to markets across the U.S. and export markets in a more competitive manner,” Bramblett said.

As an example, he said in eastern Colorado, Weskan has been able to use a 110-car shuttle served by both BNSF and Union Pacific to bring cost savings and basis improvements of 25 to 40 cents.

“We’d just like to see that same thing happen in western Kansas,” he said.

Watco, the parent company of K&O, provided this statement: “We do not comment on litigation matters, but as a matter of course we will defend our commitment to the values that define us through the proper legal channels.”

Farm Journal TV subscribers: Watch the full fireside chat with Stefan Soloviev, chairman of the Soloviev Group, from the 2026 Top Producer Summit.

Grit, Grease, and Gears: Meet the Colorado Teen Breathing New Life into Old Tractors

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 20:43:14 GMT

Colorado teenager Tyson Hansen is a shining example of that old saying “If you start them young…”

That’s because Hansen, 17, has cultivated a rare passion for buying and restoring classic tractors. It is a passion passed down from his great grandfather, who started the Hansen family farm and pieced together a massive tractor fleet over the years.

“He had over 200-some tractors, mostly two-cylinder, and when he passed, they had the big auction and my dad bought one to remember him by, and well now it’s our family tractor,” Hansen remembers. “My dad still talks about the first day he let me drive it, and he always says since that first ride, I was just hooked.”

The tractor that launched his lifelong love for tractors - the 1934 John Deere GP in all its glory.

(Photo courtesy of Mecum Auctions)

That first taste of classic tractor heaven was on the hardened steel green seat of a 1934 John Deere GP, a popular two-plow row crop setup John Deere built and sold from 1928 to 1935.

The high school junior says he’s wrenched on about 16 to 17 classic tractors at this point, all while participating in his high school FFA program and wrestling for the varsity team. And it’s not a hobby he tackles alone in a dusty, dark barn – his dad, stepmom, and brother all pitch in and help out. Because everyone knows nothing brings a family closer than bonding over busted knuckles and stripped chassis bolts.

Tyson says his family is “pretty much a John Deere family” but that he has started to feel the pull from other legacy brands.

“I started out as a John Deere guy, but I don’t even actually own any John Deeres,” he says, adding that right now his personal collection consists of two classic Case IH tractors and two Farmalls.

That doesn’t mean a young man can’t dream big, though, and Tyson’s big dream restoration project is to someday fix up a John Deere Model R.

He purchased his latest tractor, a Case 400 Super Diesel Western Special Edition with a hand clutch – one of only eight ever built, he says – with the goal of fixing it up and flipping it to raise enough cash to make that dream a reality.

“Once I got that tractor I went online and looked up some Facebook groups where the guys are all about Case, and I didn’t know anything about them at the time, so I just started asking guys for help and next thing I know within an hour I had about seven or eight texts from guys asking to buy that thing off me,” he says. “That’s when I realized that 400 is a little rarer than I figured it would have been.”

His Case 400 is also going to end up helping his fellow students in the FFA program. Tyson’s FFA teacher has asked him to bring the 400 in and is going to let the young man lead his classmates through a lesson on how diesel engines work.

Work is a key word in any farming family, and the Hansen family is no different.

“I don’t know why, my dad always tells me I won’t like it when I am out of high school, but I like to work,” Hansen says. “I guess I’ve just got a working mindset – I’m not the biggest fan of sitting in the house.”

Check out Tyson Hansen’s latest Tractor Tales spotlight below, where the teen shows off his rebuilt Case 400 tractor. And subscribe to the Farm Journal YouTube channel to get all of the latest Tractor Tale videos.

Also keep an eye on U.S. Farm Report every Saturday morning for the debut of the newest Tractor Tales feature.

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