Just around two years ago, the Mississippi River was struck with extreme drought, causing thousands of transportation systems to get stuck in the mud. As a result of the drought in 2022 on the Mississippi River, the US lost $20 billion in economic output. Fast forward to spring of 2024, ADM Grain Merchandiser Dan Bowman says the river is telling a different story.
It’s “a tale of two different stories between this time last year and actually for the last couple of years. So we’re actually about a foot and a half over a flood stage, roughly speaking, right now, and just crested a few days ago,” says Bowman. “It is definitely high water versus the low water, which is a better thing, generally speaking, for us that have business on the river.”
Roseville farmer Ron Moore adds that last year, barges weren’t able to travel the river fully loaded.
“Last year, we had low water on the Mississippi and so we couldn’t take our barges down to the export terminals in New Orleans fully loaded. So having the Mississippi River and the Illinois River levels up back where they should be is great for the export market,” says Moore.
According to the National Park Service, barges and their tows move 175 million tons of freight each year through the upper Mississippi River.
