By Karl Plume

(Reuters) – Commercial barge traffic on a critical stretch of the Mississippi River south of St. Louis may be severely restricted or halted entirely next month as drought conservation measures stem the inflow of water from the Missouri River, government and industry sources said on Thursday.

With the worst U.S. drought in 56 years sapping the reservoirs that feed the Missouri River, the flow of water from Gavins Point Dam, the system’s southernmost dam near Yankton, South Dakota, will be reduced beginning in the third week of November, the Army Corps of Engineers said.

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct 24 (Reuters) – The worst drought in half a
century has led long-time importers of U.S. corn to forge ties
with alternative suppliers, casting a shadow over the United
States’ continued dominance in the export markets, said foreign
grain buyers at a conference here.

Major importers in Asia, including South Korea, Taiwan and
top buyer Japan, have turned away from the United States as U.S.
corn prices soared to record highs this summer, buying feed from
South America and producers in the Black Sea region.

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) – CHS Inc (CHSCP.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the largest U.S. farm co-operative, is seeking to expand its grain buying, storing and shipping assets to meet rising demand from Asia and tap increasing grain output in South America and eastern Europe, President and CEO Carl Casale said on Tuesday.

The Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota-based company has expanded its export facilities in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and Gulf Coast, South America and eastern Europe over the past two years, tapping several producing regions to help blunt the impact of weather-related crop shortfalls.

SYDNEY/CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. agriculture giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) raised the stakes in the global race for grains trading power on Friday, by seeking talks to buy smaller Australian shipper GrainCorp (GNC.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to build up its platform in Asia.

While several of Decatur, Illinois-based ADM’s up-and-coming rivals have focused on big deals in North America, Chairman and CEO Patricia Woertz’s potential $3 billion deal would add a vast network of elevators and terminals in the world’s No. 2 wheat exporter to its already key position supplying China.

CHICAGO, Oct 4 (Reuters) – U.S. soybeans rallied 1.5 percent
on Thursday, gaining for a second straight day, on evidence of
strong export demand after prices tumbled to a three-month low
and on a report showing larger-than-expected weather damage to
Canada’s canola crop.

Soybeans, along with corn and wheat, were also boosted by
investors shedding their dollar holdings in favor of risk assets
like commodities as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi
vowed to preserve the euro as Europe battles its debt crisis.

Sept 19 (Reuters) – The busiest lock on the Mississippi
River remained closed on Wednesday after being shut for
emergency repairs over the weekend, causing a backup of
commercial vessels on the crucial shipping waterway, government
officials said.

Lock operators hope to reopen the lock Thursday morning
allowing river traffic to resume.

Sept 19 (Reuters) – The busiest lock on the Mississippi
River remained closed on Wednesday after being shut down for
emergency repairs over the weekend, causing a backup of
commercial vessels on the crucial shipping waterway, government
officials said.

The closure of lock and dam 27, the southernmost lock on the
Mississippi River’s lock system and just upriver from St. Louis,
is estimated to result in some $2.5 million to $3 million in
lost revenue each day that it is closed as shipments of grain,
coal and other commodities are delayed.

Sept 6 (Reuters) – Cash premiums for spot corn barges at the
U.S. Gulf Coast plunged to a near-three-year low this week as
newly harvested supplies were piling up at export terminals
which have yet to recover fully from Hurricane Isaac, trade
sources said.

Some grain export houses which sustained only minimal damage
from the category 1 storm that came ashore near New Orleans last
week expected to resume normal operations by the end of the week
but others may remain offline for longer, they said.

CHICAGO, Aug 2 (Reuters) – Mexico raided the U.S. corn
market by making the biggest one-day purchase in over two
decades this week, the first clear sign of global anxiety over
the decimated U.S. crop.

Mexico, the No 2 importer of U.S. corn after Japan, bought
1.516 million tonnes, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on
Thursday, a move traders said could touch off a frenzy of buying
by other countries who have been caught flatfooted by the worst
U.S. drought in 56 years.

Aug 2 (Reuters) – The Mississippi River was closed to
traffic at two locations on Thursday as barge tows ran aground
near Greenville, Arkansas, and La Crosse, Wisconsin, due to low
water amid the worst U.S. drought in 56 years, private and
government sources said.

It was unclear when the key shipping waterway might be
reopened to commercial traffic, they said.