# Low Mississippi River Levels Drive up Grain Transportation Costs | Farm Bureau Intel Markets | American Farm Bureau Federation

> Low Mississippi River levels, caused by Midwest and Southern dryness, are limiting barge navigation as farmers seek storage and marketing options for newly harvested crops. The Army Corps reported the St. Louis stage at 1.13 feet in late August, 46% below the three-year average.

- Date: 2023-09-28 · published 2023-09-28T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/16601-low-mississippi-river-levels-drive-up-grain-transportation-costs-farm-bureau
- Commodities: [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md), [Soybeans](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SOY.md)

## Why it matters

Higher barge freight costs push more of the transport expense onto farmers and widen interior basis, pressuring local corn and soybean cash prices relative to futures.

## Read by commodity

- SOY: bearish ▼
- CORN: bearish ▼
- BARGE: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CORN | 2024-03-01 | [Chaos at Shipping Chokepoints \| Farm Bureau Intel Markets \| American Farm Bureau Federation](https://feedsoft.ai/events/31092-chaos-at-shipping-chokepoints-farm-bureau-intel-markets-american-farm-bureau.md) | +4.5% | +5.7% |
| CORN | 2022-11-15 | [Low Mississippi River water levels drive up shipping costs - Marketplace](https://feedsoft.ai/events/38859-low-mississippi-river-water-levels-drive-up-shipping-costs-marketplace.md) | -1.3% | -5.1% |
| CORN | 2026-05-26 | [Low Mississippi River Water Levels Raise Shipping Costs For Farmers — Louisiana Farm Bureau News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16362-low-mississippi-river-water-levels-raise-shipping-costs-for-farmers-louisiana.md) | -1.8% | -6.6% |
| CORN | 2026-06-01 | [Low Mississippi River Water Levels Raise Shipping Costs for Farmers](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16363-low-mississippi-river-water-levels-raise-shipping-costs-for-farmers.md) | -5.0% | -5.7% |
| CORN | 2025-09-30 | [Drought debacle: How the Mississippi River's low water levels are hurting crop income \| An official publication of Michigan Farm Bureau](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16428-drought-debacle-how-the-mississippi-river-s-low-water-levels-are-hurting-crop.md) | +0.8% | +1.0% |
| SOY | 2024-03-01 | [Chaos at Shipping Chokepoints \| Farm Bureau Intel Markets \| American Farm Bureau Federation](https://feedsoft.ai/events/31092-chaos-at-shipping-chokepoints-farm-bureau-intel-markets-american-farm-bureau.md) | +2.5% | +5.6% |
| SOY | 2022-11-15 | [Low Mississippi River water levels drive up shipping costs - Marketplace](https://feedsoft.ai/events/38859-low-mississippi-river-water-levels-drive-up-shipping-costs-marketplace.md) | -0.3% | +2.6% |
| SOY | 2026-05-26 | [Low Mississippi River Water Levels Raise Shipping Costs For Farmers — Louisiana Farm Bureau News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16362-low-mississippi-river-water-levels-raise-shipping-costs-for-farmers-louisiana.md) | -0.4% | -5.3% |

## Sources

- fb.org: https://www.fb.org/intel/markets/low-mississippi-river-levels-drive-up-grain-transportation-costs

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