Mississippi flooding caused $12 billion in damage this year

Extreme weather has hampered shipping on the Mississippi River, hurting farmers who were already reeling from the trade war with China and were hoping to sell last year's soybeans. "The U.S. Coast Guard shut down a five-mile stretch in St. Louis on Friday — cutting off a major commercial artery for Midwest farmers and other industries," Frances Stead Sellers and Annie Gowen report for The Washington Post.

The river is at a level rarely seen since the historic flooding in 1993, and may not be fully open until June. The flooding has caused an estimated $12 billion in damage this year: the same rains that flooded the river also flooded out many Midwestern farms, killing livestock, ruining structures and stored crops, and postponing planting, Sellers and Gowen report.

Soybean farmer Robb Ewoldt, who has about $75,000 in soybeans to sell, told the Post: "It’s all one perfect storm between the tariffs and all the flooding and all the rain we’ve had that’s causing planting delays right now . . . There are a lot of things going on that are kicking producers in the mouth."