Another Soy Harvest Underway, Stymied By Low Water Along Mississippi River

A series of barges carrying soybeans makes its way through Lock and Dam Number 25 along the Mississippi River outside Winfield, Mo. (Photo courtesy of Mike Steenhoek, Soy Transportation Coalition)

For the second straight year, farmers and freight-haulers are having to deal with historically low water levels along the Mississippi River. Gauges along the river from Cairo, Ill. to Vicksburg, Miss. are registering below low water threshold, reducing the river’s capacity for barge traffic that typically handles 60 percent of this fall’s corn and soy harvest. Soy Transportation Coalition executive director Mike Steenhoek…

Central MO Info · 23 1011 Mike Steenhoek on low levels along the Mississippi River cut 1

Reduced barge capacity is not only driving up freight costs, but also causing a backlog at elevators along the river, in turn depressing cash grain bids.

Central MO Info · 23 1011 Mike Steenhoek on low levels along the Mississippi River cut 2

Despite steady rains in the forecast for the Upper Mississippi River Valley, river levels are not expected to increase significantly over the next two weeks.