The Mississippi River. (Mark D. Tomer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Soaring river freight hits U.S. farmers

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. farmers are running out of options for their just-harvested corn and soybeans as delays on the Mississippi River, the main conduit for crops to export markets, cause shipping backlogs, while grain storage on the river’s banks is filling up. Low river levels and backups at aging locks have slowed navigation […] Read more





Ardent’s Illinois flour mills reopened

Chicago | Reuters –– Ardent Mills, the largest U.S. flour miller, said operations resumed on Thursday at its mill at Chester, Illinois, that had been closed since Dec. 29 due to near-record flooding on the Mississippi River. Mill staff “have gone ‘above and beyond’ to conduct extensive cleaning and sanitizing to return the mill back […] Read more



(Dave Bedard photo)

U.S. grain shippers await El Nino dryness after unseasonable flood

Chicago | Reuters –– The clear Midwestern skies that El Nino cycles typically bring could be a boon to the U.S. heartland this spring, after recent record rain levels soaked the region, swamping farmland and disrupting grain export shipments on swollen rivers. Farm fields across the Midwest are saturated, according to the U.S. Department of […] Read more

(Michael Thompson photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Ardent restarts Illinois flour mill after flooding

Chicago | Reuters –– The largest U.S. flour miller, Ardent Mills, has resumed operations in Alton, Illinois, as floodwaters along the Mississippi River receded while a mill at Chester, Ill. will remain down for weeks, company executives said Tuesday. Near record-high floodwaters following deadly winter storms forced the company to shut down the mills a […] Read more