# Midwest drought has Mississippi River level concerns coming back | Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network

> Drought across the Midwest is raising renewed concern about Mississippi River levels, with main tributaries running low. Barge captain Jimmy Cheatham says barges are already being sent lighter, which affects states including Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

- Date: 2023-06-22 · published 2023-06-22T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: weather · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/16623-midwest-drought-has-mississippi-river-level-concerns-coming-back-iowa
- 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

Lighter barge loads and tributary drought raise freight costs and can weaken upper Midwest cash grain bids and lift barge rates.

## Read by commodity

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

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CORN | 2024-04-05 | [Drought Conditions Improving in Much of Midwest \| Red River Farm Network](https://feedsoft.ai/events/13192-drought-conditions-improving-in-much-of-midwest-red-river-farm-network.md) | -2.2% | -0.4% |
| CORN | 2025-10-16 | [Drought lowering Mississippi River levels again, disrupting shipping](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16420-drought-lowering-mississippi-river-levels-again-disrupting-shipping.md) | -0.0% | +2.8% |
| CORN | 2021-11-23 | [Brazil’s planting pace remains ahead of schedule \| Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network](https://feedsoft.ai/events/13763-brazil-s-planting-pace-remains-ahead-of-schedule-iowa-agribusiness-radio-network.md) | -3.9% | -0.1% |
| CORN | 2026-04-23 | [Mississippi River Levels Chester Il — Geosirius](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16370-mississippi-river-levels-chester-il-geosirius.md) | +1.7% | +2.9% |
| CORN | 2025-08-29 | [Eyes On Mississippi River Levels: A Developing Situation - AgWeb](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16431-eyes-on-mississippi-river-levels-a-developing-situation-agweb.md) | +3.3% | +8.5% |
| SOY | 2024-04-05 | [Drought Conditions Improving in Much of Midwest \| Red River Farm Network](https://feedsoft.ai/events/13192-drought-conditions-improving-in-much-of-midwest-red-river-farm-network.md) | -1.8% | +0.8% |
| SOY | 2025-10-16 | [Drought lowering Mississippi River levels again, disrupting shipping](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16420-drought-lowering-mississippi-river-levels-again-disrupting-shipping.md) | +2.8% | +11.3% |
| SOY | 2019-03-22 | [Weather-related issues impact grain market \| Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network](https://feedsoft.ai/events/9644-weather-related-issues-impact-grain-market-iowa-agribusiness-radio-network.md) | -2.3% | -3.3% |

## Sources

- iowaagribusinessradionetwork.com: https://iowaagribusinessradionetwork.com/midwest-drought-has-mississippi-river-level-concerns-coming-back/

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