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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
The latest Environmental Protection Agency’s Hypoxia Task Force report to Congress concludes farmers and ranchers are succeeding in reducing nitrogen runoff in the Mississippi River watershed, but additional efforts are needed to meet phosphorus load reduction goals.
Mississippi River water levels are at historic lows – dropping even below where they were last year when barge transport came to a complete halt – and that means increased costs and slower delivery for farmers that need to get their crops to the Gulf.
Flooding conditions along the Mississippi River, brought on by the warming of massive quantities of snow to hit the Midwest over the winter, are expected to cause issues for inland waterway transportation into next week.
The U.S. fertilizer sector is doing well, buoyed by solid demand and strong commodity prices, but the industry is increasingly concerned about disruptions like low water levels in the Mississippi River and a potential rail strike, says Corey Rosenbusch, president and CEO of The Fertilizer Institute.
Despite some improvement from a week ago, record-low water levels are continuing to hinder grain transportation on the Mississippi River, leaving farmers with fewer alternatives for getting their crops onto barges to export.
Water levels in parts of the shrunken Mississippi River and its tributaries are reaching depths not seen in more than 30 years, grounding barges and forcing producers to store more of their grain.
A second big Supreme Court case for agriculture is coming up next week, this one involving California’s Proposition 12 requirements for animal housing.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is making headway on a major Mississippi River project that will make barge transportation on the river more efficient.
