Low Mississippi River limits barges just as farmers want to move their crops downriver

The transport restrictions are a headache for barge companies, but even more worrisome for thousands of farmers who have watched drought scorch their fields for much of the summer. Now they will face higher prices to transport what remains of their crops.

But as river levels drop, that cost has soared. The cargo rate from St. Louis southward is now up 77% above the three-year average. Canal Barge, which works much of the Mississippi as well as the Illinois and Ohio rivers, has had to lighten loads so barges ride higher in the water. The company also can't link as many barges together because the shipping lane is narrower, Lane said.

Though floodwaters quickly receded, they left behind mountains of underwater sand, forcing the Corps of Engineers to “dredge like crazy” to clear out a shipping channel, said Tom Heinold, who commands the Corps’ Rock Island district spanning 312 miles of the Mississippi from northern Iowa south to Missouri.

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Low Mississippi River limits barges just as farmers want to move their crops downriverDES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A long stretch of hot, dry weather has left the Mississippi River so low that barge companies are reducing their loads just as Midwest farmers are preparing to harvest crops and send tons of corn and soybeans downriver to the Gulf of Mexico. The transport restrictions are a headache for barge companies, but even more worrisome for thousands of farmers who have watched drought scorch their fields for much of the summer. Now they will face higher prices to transport what re
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