Water levels on the Mississippi River have been exceptionally low this fall, due to a dry summer in the Midwest. 

That’s jamming up barge traffic and causing headaches for businesses that rely on the river, and it’s affecting farmers’ bottom lines. 

For grain farmers in the Midwest, the cheapest way to get crops to market is usually on the Mississippi. 

But this year, “the abnormally low conditions is hindering the nation’s ability, really, to get those agricultural products out,” said Clint Willson, who directs Louisiana State University’s Center for River Studies. 

He said the river isn’t as wide or as deep as it normally is in some places. That means fewer barges can travel on the river, they can’t carry as much stuff, and shipping costs for farmers are high. 

“And then that impacts their bottom line,” he said.

Agricultural input costs are also high and the strong dollar is making U.S. agricultural exports less competitive, said economist Michael Doherty with the Illinois Farm Bureau. 

“So now you add this shipping cost on top of that and you’re just squeezing the farmers that much more,” he said.

Doherty adds many soybean farmers are storing this year’s crop until shipping costs start trending down. But forecasts show drought conditions aren’t likely to let up soon.