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Arkansas Farm Bureau warns low Mississippi River levels are raising freight costs and squeezing farmers

Agriculture, Forestry & Economic Development - Senate · October 31, 2022
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Arkansas Farm Bureau officials told the committee that low Mississippi River levels are forcing barges to run under capacity, widening basis for grain sellers, and shifting freight to far costlier rail or truck options; they cited sharp rises in barge freight that reduce farm returns and risk export market share.

John McMinn and Tyler Ochsner of the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation briefed the committee on how unusually low Mississippi River stages are disrupting grain movement, increasing freight costs and squeezing producers.

McMinn explained the central role of barge transport for U.S. grain exports and described how lower water levels force barges to…

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