====== Mississippi ======

{{0_public:river:states-extra-mississippi.jpg|}}

{{tag>grains price}}

  * 20,000 km of navigable waterways reaching the heart of the country's grain belt[(:ref:commodity_professionals)]
  * moving crops to export ports by barge gives the US a tremendous cost advantage over our competitors in Brazil and Argentina[(:ref:commodity_professionals)]
  * US farmers don't have to rely on the road system[(:ref:commodity_professionals)]

Water levels on the Mississippi, which carries more than 45% of US agricultural exports, have been dropping since June, restricting the amount of grain allowed on each barge. This led to a tightening of barge supply as more are required to transport the same amount of grain.

Drought has dried up the Mississippi, where roughly two-thirds of US grain exports historically have been shipped on barges to the US Gulf.