Concerns of low river levels rise into harvest
Sep. 28—The U.S. agriculture sector is facing a familiar issue as it begins to either store or ship crops coming out of fields this harvest.
A recent run of dry conditions in the Midwest, particularly in the eastern Corn Belt, caused water levels on the Mississippi River and key tributaries to decline since July. Barge companies subsequently reduced tonnage on recent shipments.
"It's quite remarkable we're back in this situation, this unfortunate three-peat we're experiencing," Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition, told the RFD Radio Network. "We had low water levels in 2022 and 2023."
River levels returned to more normal readings in the first half of this year, but things began to change in July as the weather pattern dried out in key areas.
Large portions of Illinois and Indiana were rated abnormally dry with southern portions of the two states in moderate drought as of Sept. 11, ahead of expected precipitation from the remnants of Hurricane Francine, while much of Ohio was in severe to extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
"A lot of the Midwest had been much better this year (in terms of precipitation)," Steenhoek said. "It really is a lesson that you can have an adequate amount of precipitation during the year but all of a sudden when the spigot turns off starting in July, it doesn't take much for (river) water levels to drop."
Mississippi River levels were about 2.5 feet higher compared to the historically low water event last year in Memphis and 5 feet higher in St. Louis, but still below normal as of the second week of September. The situation has already affected barge freight.
"We're seeing barge companies have to respond once again by light-loading barges and limiting the number of barges attached as a unit," said Steenhoek, who estimated barge tonnage has been reduced 20-25% in recent weeks. "That's a real concern as we proceed further into harvest."
The situation isn't limited to the U.S. this season. Low water levels on the Amazon River network in South America are also limiting shipments of grain and oilseeds in some areas due to a historic drought there.
In the U.S., remnants of Hurricane Francine were expected to provide some relief, with parts of southern Illinois expected to receive 1-3 inches of rain through the weekend, Freese-Notis Weather Meteorologist Paul Otto told RFD.
Harvest underway in select areas
The recent run of dry conditions, before the arrival of Francine, allowed some farmers to begin harvesting the first two weeks of September.
"The dust is flying," said Ken Taake, FarmWeek crop watcher from Pulaski County. "Harvest is ramping up with both soybeans and corn."
Illinois farmers harvested 1% of soybeans and 2% of the corn crop as of Sept. 9, both 1 point ahead of the average pace, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service Illinois field office.
Most of the initial field activity is taking place in southern Illinois while some crops to the north are still weeks away from maturation.
Overall, the crops continue to progress quickly with 40% of corn-rated mature and 35% of soybeans dropping leaves statewide as of Sept. 9, which was 16 and 24 points ahead of the average pace, respectively.
