WINONA, Minn. – Barge shippers out of Winona may face minor disruptions because of damage from Hurricane Ida in the Lower Mississippi Valley, according to the federal agriculture director for Winona. In a radio interview on KWNO, John McRae said that 22 barges were dislodged at New Orleans. It is through New Orleans that half of U.S. grain exports are transferred to ocean ships for export. “With that amount of volume of grain moving through that port, anytime you interrupt that, it’s just a challenge that nobody really needs,” McRae said. He expressed confidence that upriver barge traffic would get moving as soon s power is restored in New Orleans and order is restored to the port.
