Mississippi River

October is a big month for barge transportation on the Mississippi River, but restrictions are in place and the weather forecast shows little promise for improving water levels.

UPDATE: BAMWX.com meteorologist Bret Walts is forecasting potentially damaging wind storms forming over large parts of Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and North and South Dakota starting Monday evening and lasting into the night.

Missy Bauer, Farm Journal field agronomist, offers a few pointers to make sure your planter is firing on all cylinders.

ENSO-neutral means conditions could be close to average, but Eric Snodgrass, Nutrien’s principal atmospheric scientist, says that doesn’t mean the weather will be normal this spring and summer with growing concerns about drought.

Get ready for the months ahead to look a lot different than last year.

The Soy Transportation Coalition says every foot of reduced water depth or draft is the equivalent of loading 7,000 fewer bushels of soybeans per barge.

“The low water disruption will be felt not only by our U.S. producers of food, farm, and fiber but also by U.S. and international consumers as well,” says Friedmann of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition.

Traffic along the Ohio River is seeing major hurdles this harvest season. Just last week, Lock & Dam 53 closed due to a break-down as the hydraulics that open and close the lower gate failed to work properly. On Wed., Oct. 11, the U.S. Waterways Council said the issue this week is the rising river level. That forced the Ohio River to shut down to traffic at Locks & Dam 52 earlier in the week. With river levels already exceeding the maximum locking stage of 20.7 feet and expected to rise further through the end of the week, the Waterways Council expects limits to be placed on navigation until either Sunday or Monday.