Bob Conley, left, and Stueve Sugranis, crew members with Upper River Services of St.Paul, Minn., prepare an empty barge for towing to a nearby elevator, where it will be filled with grain before heading down the Mississippi. ( / Dan Nienaber/CNHI News Service)
A grain elevator employee in Savage, Minn., inspects a Mississippi River barge loaded with wheat bound for New Orleans, where the cargo will be offloaded to an ocean-going ship and transported to overseas markets. ( / Dan Nienaber/CNHI News Service)