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MO River levee repair progressing from 2019 flood
The Missouri Corn Growers Association president says most of levees in his area have been repaired from damage suffered during the 2019 flood.
Jay Fischer, who farms near Jefferson City, tells Brownfield his outlook heading into planting season is a lot better than the last three years.
“[In] ’19, even before it flooded, it just rained nonstop,” he said. “Then last year, the uncertainty of not having any levee protection at all, we paid up to triple rate crop insurance premiums because of the high risk.”
He said more barges have used the Missouri River to transport grain in recent years which has allowed farmers to save on shipping costs.
“One barge on the Missouri River will take 75 trucks off of the highway,” he said.
And Fischer said less truck use means better grain quality.
“[The] less times it is augured on and off of a truck and transported, it keeps the quality much better; less crackage and stuff,” he said. “And it lets us export a lot better product around the world, [it] gains us repeat business.”
Fischer said maintaining corn and ethanol exports is vital for the corn market.
