OCTOBER 28, 2022:
ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER (AP) — Nearly the entire stretch of the Mississippi River has experienced below average rainfall over the past two months (September and October 2022), reducing water levels on the river to near record lows. The drought has disrupted ship and barge traffic at a critical time for farmers harvesting soybeans and corn for export. Farmers are paying higher shipping costs. Tourists can see parts of the river that are usually inaccessible, including Tower Rock, a protruding landmark roughly 100 miles southeast of St. Louis. Although scientists say climate change is raising temperatures and making droughts more common and intense, a weather expert says this latest drought affecting the central United States is more likely a short-term weather phenomenon.
OCTOBER 7, 2022:
Harvest season is in high gear, and U.S. farmers have another supply chain challenge.
Bloomberg says there aren’t enough barges moving goods up and down the shrinking Mississippi River. Drought is drying a vital American waterway, which means a lot less room for vessels moving corn and soybeans from farms to U.S. ports. At one point last week, barge rates hit $49.88 per ton. That’s the highest price on record and a 50 percent jump from 2021 shipping rates.
More than half of the corn and soybean shipments heading to world markets travel along the Mississippi. The barge problems are hitting at harvest when the supplies of grain will be at their largest. It also follows a challenging growing season filled with weather problems and soaring inflation for things like fuel and fertilizer. Fertilizers needed by producers to grow grain are also at risk as they ship along the Mississippi.
OCTOBER 6, 2022:
UNDATED (AP)- The unusually low water level in the lower Mississippi River is causing barges to get stuck in the mud and sand. That’s disrupting river travel for shippers, recreational boaters and even passengers on a cruise line. The lack of rainfall in recent weeks has left the Mississippi River approaching record low levels in areas from Missouri south through Louisiana. The U.S. Coast Guard says at least eight grounding of barges have been reported in the past week, despite low-water restrictions on barge loads. The National Weather Service says nearly all of the Mississippi River basin, from Minnesota through Louisiana, has seen below-normal rainfall over the past 30 days.
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