River shipping could be affected by high water, budget cuts

• Traveling down the river

A barge handles traffic on the Mississippi River.

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LA CROSSE - Wisconsin farm products might have rough sailing when they get shipped down the Mississippi River this fall. Paul Rohde of the Waterways Council, says high waters and federal budget cuts will put a double-whammy on shipping conditions.

Rohde said barges were held up in the spring when three locks-and-dams near Saint Paul were closed for a couple weeks due to high water. And flooding in Louisiana caused a large build-up of silt that affected the entire Mississippi River to the north. Those problems require dredging to solve -- but Rohde said the Army Corps of Engineers had a smaller dredging budget this year.

Rohde, the Midwest vice president of the Waterways Council, said it doesn't bode well for the Obama administration's goal of doubling U.S. exports by 2014. He said the uncertainty of river travel might cause shippers to use other modes of transportation -- and that could affect commodity prices.

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