# Beans, basis, bins and barges

> Arkansas University extension notes that harvest-time barge demand rises while river restrictions limit how many barges can make the trip. Farmers without enough on-farm storage must sell crops at harvest and often ship them by barge. The article notes Arkansas has 235 million bushels of on-farm storage.

- Date: 2025-09-03 · published 2025-09-03T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/16427-beans-basis-bins-and-barges
- Commodities: [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md), [Soybeans](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SOY.md)

## Why it matters

Fewer available barges at harvest raise per-bushel freight costs and widen the basis for soybeans sold in the South. Farmers with storage can hold beans for better prices.

## Read by commodity

- SOY: bearish ▼
- BARGE: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SOY | 2025-02-18 | [Corn, soybean barge basis firm as some rivers rise](https://feedsoft.ai/events/26233-corn-soybean-barge-basis-firm-as-some-rivers-rise.md) | -0.7% | -2.0% |
| SOY | 2023-05-26 | [When barge traffic slows, soybean basis suffers](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16631-when-barge-traffic-slows-soybean-basis-suffers.md) | +2.2% | +14.9% |
| SOY | 2022-11-23 | [River Levels and Barge Rates Impacting Corn and Soybean Basis - Center for Commercial Agriculture](https://feedsoft.ai/events/38711-river-levels-and-barge-rates-impacting-corn-and-soybean-basis-center-for.md) | +2.8% | +3.6% |
| SOY | 2026-10-23 | [New Orleans Grain Barges Hit 873 as Low Water Trims Tows](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16330-new-orleans-grain-barges-hit-873-as-low-water-trims-tows.md) | -2.9% | — |
| SOY | 2018-05-01 | [Grain barge tonnage below average](https://feedsoft.ai/events/65382-grain-barge-tonnage-below-average.md) | -3.4% | -0.7% |

## Sources

- uaex.uada.edu: https://www.uaex.uada.edu/media-resources/news/2025/september2025/9-3-2025-ark-bins-beans-barges-basis.aspx

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.