By Timothy Boone
The Advocate
The Port of Greater Baton Rouge has received a barge-mounted crane that will make it easier to unload grain despite the level of the Mississippi River.
The $7 million pedestal crane will unload grain directly from barges into Louis Dreyfus Company's elevator. Because the crane has the flexibility to unload barges at times of high or low river levels, this will benefit local farmers, said Jay Hardman, the port's executive director.