The harvest is coming to a rapid close but another economic problem for producers is playing out again on the Mississippi River. In recent years, drought has caused the river to hit historic lows and that impacts shipping costs for grains headed to New Orleans.
The river at Memphis on Thursday (Oct. 29) was at -1 foot, according to the National Water Prediction Service. That level is expected to reach -8 feet by Nov. 12. Little or not enough rain is predicted in key spots in the river’s tributary system in the coming weeks to raise water levels, the National Weather Service projected.
Agricultural economists with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and collaborating institutions showed that parts of Arkansas and other Southern states are among those most exposed to the impacts for corn and soybean prices when the river is low…