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U.S. NEWS Monday 20 May 2019

Spring Flooding disrupts farm

shipments on the Mississippi River

By MARGERY A. BECK man would normally be pact.
Associated Press sending soybeans, corn On average, nearly 31 tons
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nor- and other grain harvest- (28 metric tons) of goods
mally this time of year, ed last fall down the river, and commodities are
huge barges can be seen where it would eventually shipped on the upper Mis-
chugging up the Missis- be exported — likely to Chi- sissippi River from March
sippi River, carrying millions na. Meanwhile, shipments through May, according
of tons of grain to market of fertilizer that normally to a five-year average
and bringing agriculture- travel up the river to com- gauged by the Corps' Wa- In this Tuesday, May 14, 2019 photo, empty barges are moored
on the Mississippi River in St. Paul, Minn., as spring flooding inter-
related products to farmers munities from St. Louis to St. terborne Commerce Sta- rupts shipments on the river.
in the Midwest for the new Paul, Minnesota, haven't tistics Center. The biggest Associated Press
growing season. But there's made it through. slice of that, at nearly 11
not much barge traffic this The inability to get the grain million tons (10 million met- about $250 million in do- mained mostly navigable
year. down the river has exacer- ric tons), is grain, followed mestic goods are shipped right up until it meets the
That's because histor- bated a shortage of space by coal, sand and gravel on the Mississippi, accord- Mississippi River at St. Louis,
ic spring flooding that for those products. and chemicals and petro- ing to the center. said James Rudy with the
swamped and tainted "You have elevators that leum products. Annually, The Missouri River has re- Corps' Kansas City office.q
farmland, also left parts of aren't even taking grain
the Mississippi closed for right now," Hartman said.
business. "So that's causing issues as
The river, which runs near- far as selling our grain in a
ly 2,350 miles (3,782 kilo- timely manner."
meters) from Minnesota's Many of the locks and
Lake Itasca to the Gulf of dams on the Mississippi that
Mexico, is a main conduit closed due to flooding that
of shipping everything from started in March have re-
agriculture products and opened, but the U.S. Army
construction material to Corps of Engineers doesn't
petroleum and coal. The expect the river to be fully
troubles on the Mississippi unimpeded until possibly
also have affected ship- June.
ping on the waterways that Even if the locks were
feed into it, including the open, "many of these
Missouri River. barges wouldn't be able
The interruption is hitting an to get here anyway," said
agriculture industry that's Sam Heilig, a Corps spokes-
already suffering from a woman at Rock Island, Il-
plethora of ills, including linois. "Because the water's
the Trump administration's so high, there's not enough
trade disputes that have clearance to get under
helped drive down com- some of the bridges."
modity prices. For now, it's impossible
"You've got a perfect storm to put a number on how
here," said Kenneth Hart- much the interruption has
man Jr., who grows corn, cost shippers, farmers and
soybeans and wheat just manufacturers. But Debra
south of Waterloo, Illinois. "It Calhoun, spokeswoman
looks bad for us." for the Washington-based
Like other farmers in more advocacy group Water-
than a dozen states in the ways Council, said there's
Mississippi River basin, Hart- no doubt it's having an im-