An early, quick freeze has ended northern Mississippi River barge shipping about two or three weeks ahead of normal, officials say.
The Army Corps of Engineers usually shuts northern shipping from December through March -- usually north of Lock and Dam 21 at Quincy, Ill. More than half of U.S. corn, soybeans and wheat move through the barge system and barges also carry fertilizer inputs into the region for farmers.
Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition in Ankeny, Iowa, says the early freeze means some grain that was expected to move through the northern system on barges will probably be shifted to trains or trucks to St. Louis, Mo., before going onto barges.
"The sky is not falling, but it's unwelcome," Steenhoek says. "We have a rail system that is quite congested and rail demand has outstripped supply."
