As harvest season powers on, concerns over water levels on the Mississippi River are growing. Experts in the Midwest are worried recent rainfall will not be as helpful as previously thought.
Dennis Todey is the Director of USDA’s Midwest Climate Hub. He tells Brownfield Ag News dry soil in the Mississippi River basin will take in most of the moisture long before it hits the River. USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey was hopeful rainfall would help shipping conditions, but Todey says it will not be a quick fix. Dry conditions in the Eastern Corn Belt are largely to blame, since that region feeds the Ohio River, which is a major contributor to the Mississippi.
