Low Mississippi River Levels to Again Disrupt Harvest Shipping

By Ryan Hanrahan

Agri-Pulse’s Noah Wicks reported that “water levels in parts of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers are likely to reach critically low stages soon, forcing shippers to light-load harvest-season grain barges for the fourth year in a row.”

“Readings on the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois, have already fallen below that gauge’s ‘low threshold,’ while those on the Mississippi River at Memphis, are projected to do so by Tuesday,” Wicks reported. “With harvest season already underway, agricultural shippers are being forced to load their barges lighter due to the threat of low water conditions developing in coming weeks. ‘We’ve had low water levels for four years in a row now,’ said Mike Seyfert, president and CEO of the National Grain and Feed Association. ‘What I would say is, it certainly doesn’t make things easier."

“Barge rates have risen, adding additional shipping costs for grain elevators that trickle back down to the farm level,” Wicks reported. “Gary Williams, the director of the Upper Mississippi Waterway Association, said between current commodity prices and shipping costs, Midwestern corn and soybean farmers have been looking to store their grain in ‘every single nook and cranny’ they can.”