Commercial Barge Lines Struggle As Drought-Stricken Mississippi River Levels PlummetOSCEOLA, Arkansas—Jeff Worsham is a realist regarding the weather because he believes what he sees.
That the regional drought is a bad one, getting worse, is beyond dispute. The Mississippi River is at the lowest it’s been in decades, he said.
Worse, the barges are backing up because of it, running aground, and wreaking havoc on the regional supply chain.
“There’s no relief in sight as far as rainfall,” said Worsham, port manager of Poinsett Rice & Grain’s loading facility in Osceola, Arkansas.
When will it rain next?
Worsham said, “Who knows?”
Jeff Worsham, port manager of Poinsett Rice & Grain in Osceola, Ark., said the Mississippi River is at the lowest it’s been in decades due to an ongoing drought wreaking havoc with commercial barge lines. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)
Loaded at about 65 percent capacity with soybeans to reduce weight, the barges at the Osceola facility have been “dead in the water” for days in a jagged queue, blocked by a single barge that became stuck in the shallow mouth of the port....
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