A bumper crop is usually good news for Missouri’s agriculture industry, but this year’s crop is causing some problems. Chris Klenklen with the State Agriculture Department says farmers are bringing in about 25 to 50 percent more grain than last year, but they’re running out of room to store it. Grain elevators are overflowing. The barge navigation season ended last week 47 days earlier than in the past, right at the peak of harvest. And Klenklen says trains are not filling the gap. Klenklen says that means grain elevator operators are having to store grain out on the ground where it is more susceptible to the elements and disease. He says farmers are being urged to pace the amount of grain brought into their local elevators. He expects the problem will continue probably until the end of the year.
