Mississippi River Levels Falling At Harvest Time

The Associated Press’ Jim Salter reported this past week that “the water level of the Mississippi River is unusually low for the third straight year, forcing barge companies to put limits on how much cargo they can carry and cutting into farm profits. It was just two months ago that much of the Mississippi River was above flood stage north of St. Louis. Since then, the river level has dropped steadily. The area south of St. Louis has been hit especially hard, mirroring low-water concerns that began around this same time of year in both 2022 and 2023.”

“As part of the fallout, barge companies are forced to limit the soybeans, grain and other cargo they carry to prevent barges from potentially getting stuck. That means less profit for farmers,” Salter reported. “About 60% of U.S. grain exports are taken by barge down the Mississippi to New Orleans, where the corn, soybeans and wheat is stored and ultimately transferred for shipment to other countries. It’s an efficient way to transport crops — a typical group of 15 barges lashed together carries as much cargo as about 1,000 trucks.”

“With cargoes limited, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s most recent Grain Transportation Report showed that for the week ending Aug. 31, 480,750 tons of grain moved on barges — a 17% drop from the previous week,” Salter reported. “Meanwhile, costs were up sharply. Freight rates originating in St. Louis were 8% higher than the same period last year and up 57% compared to the three-year average. Freight rates originating in Memphis were 10% higher than last year, and 63% higher than the three-year average.”

In addition to the St. Louis area, Progressive Farmer’s Mary Kennedy reported that “barge groundings have been common, especially around the Memphis area, and the dredges are out helping to create a channel for barges to safely pass through. The Dredge Jadwin moved to Island 30, MM 783 to 785, and according to American Commercial Barge Line, there will be rolling 24-hour closures beginning Sept. 8. The Dredge Hurley is at Tarpley on the Lower Mississippi River, Vicksburg District, and there will be rolling 24-hour closures beginning Sept. 9.”

“Barge drafts have also been cut, and each foot of draft that is reduced means a barge’s cargo is cut by 200 tons,” Kennedy reported. “This will cost shippers money as they are paying the same amount of freight to ship less. In addition, that could create the need for more barges to pick up the slack. On much of the Mississippi, a normal draft, the distance between the waterline and the deepest point of the boat, for a barge when river conditions are good, is about 12 feet at 1,500 tons.”

“‘This development is clearly unwelcome,'” Kennedy reported. “‘Soybean and grain farmers have a number of headwinds confronting the industry. It is therefore essential that our supply chain is a facilitator of profitability, not an obstacle to it. Unfortunately, recent and current rail challenges along with the retreating water levels on the Mississippi River are serving as an impediment to farmer profitability. This coincides with a projected large 2024 harvest. This clearly will be an area of focus in the days and weeks to come.'”