# Mississippi River Low Levels Hit Arkansas Soybean Crop Value Hard – SoyScape

> Low Lower Mississippi water levels last season forced barges to carry lighter loads and some vessels waited at anchorage for deeper water below Memphis. Higher per-bushel transport costs widened Arkansas soybean basis relative to Chicago futures. Farmers absorbed the lower local cash prices.

- Date: 2025-07-03 · published 2025-07-03T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: weather · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/16437-mississippi-river-low-levels-hit-arkansas-soybean-crop-value-hard-soyscape
- Commodities: [Soybeans](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SOY.md), [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md)

## Why it matters

Higher freight costs and wider basis lower the price Arkansas farmers receive and raise the cost of moving soybeans downriver. Barge capacity constraints keep upward pressure on river freight.

## Read by commodity

- SOY: bearish ▼
- BARGE: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SOY | 2025-07-09 | [Study: Low Mississippi River levels costing Arkansas farmers millions in lost crop value \| Wynne Progress](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16439-study-low-mississippi-river-levels-costing-arkansas-farmers-millions-in-lost.md) | -2.9% | -5.4% |
| SOY | 2025-07-08 | [Low Mississippi River levels cost soybean farmers up to $293 million - Talk Business & Politics](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16438-low-mississippi-river-levels-cost-soybean-farmers-up-to-293-million-talk.md) | -3.4% | -6.1% |
| SOY | 2026-10-22 | [Water Levels on Lower Mississippi River Starting to Run Low Again](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16332-water-levels-on-lower-mississippi-river-starting-to-run-low-again.md) | -2.3% | — |
| SOY | 2025-04-01 | [Estimating the Impact of Low Mississippi River Levels on Soybean Basis in the Midsouth \| Agriculture of America](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16456-estimating-the-impact-of-low-mississippi-river-levels-on-soybean-basis-in-the.md) | -3.1% | +2.6% |
| SOY | 2026-04-23 | [Mississippi River Levels Chester Il — Geosirius](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16370-mississippi-river-levels-chester-il-geosirius.md) | +1.5% | +3.0% |

## Sources

- soyscape.com: https://soyscape.com/2025/07/03/mississippi-river-low-levels-hit-arkansas-soybean-crop-value-hard/

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