# Fall Rains Ease Midwest Drought and Replenish Mississippi River - Farmer Mac

> Late September and October rainfall eased Midwest drought and raised Mississippi River water levels, after summer drought affected much of Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. USDA projects a relatively limited impact on average crop yields. Fall water levels had dropped to their lowest September levels in years before the rains.

- Date: 2023-11-16 · published 2023-11-16T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: weather · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/33358-fall-rains-ease-midwest-drought-and-replenish-mississippi-river-farmer-mac
- Commodities: [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md)

## Why it matters

Improved river levels make a repeat of last year's barge backlog less likely, easing freight pressure on grain movement. Limited yield losses also reduce the upside risk for corn and soybean prices.

## Read by commodity

- CORN: neutral
- BARGE: bearish ▼

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CORN | 2025-07-04 | [Rain Eases Drought in Parts of Midwest, But Heat Adds Stress](https://feedsoft.ai/events/13076-rain-eases-drought-in-parts-of-midwest-but-heat-adds-stress.md) | -6.0% | -6.0% |
| CORN | 2026-05-21 | [Drought Monitor shows slight improvement in Midwest - Pro Farmer](https://feedsoft.ai/events/12992-drought-monitor-shows-slight-improvement-in-midwest-pro-farmer.md) | -1.7% | -7.1% |
| CORN | 2022-01-12 | [Drought Took the Top End Off Corn and Soybean Yields \| Red River Farm Network](https://feedsoft.ai/events/13390-drought-took-the-top-end-off-corn-and-soybean-yields-red-river-farm-network.md) | -2.6% | +3.6% |
| CORN | 2025-02-14 | [The Mississippi River levels are recharging but challenges may still arise for shippers and producers - RFD](https://feedsoft.ai/events/26237-the-mississippi-river-levels-are-recharging-but-challenges-may-still-arise-for.md) | +1.4% | -6.6% |
| CORN | 2017-03-09 | [El Nino may arrive this summer and fall](https://feedsoft.ai/events/71912-el-nino-may-arrive-this-summer-and-fall.md) | +0.5% | +0.6% |

## Sources

- farmermac.com: https://www.farmermac.com/insights-research/fall-rains-ease-midwest-drought-and-replenish-mississippi-river

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