Drying Mississippi River Disrupts Another Supply Lane

The Mississippi River serves as one of the nation’s most vital supply routes, with slow-moving barges carrying everything from agricultural products to oil and building materials. Due to a drastically dry spring and summer, however, the river is running too low at some points to allow vessels to pass through. This video looks at how plummeting water levels on the Mississippi are disrupting the plans of farmers and manufacturers who rely on the river to get their goods to market.  

Questions:

1. Why is the Mississippi River such an important shipping route in the U.S.? 
2. How have farmers been affected by the Mississippi River’s low water levels as they attempt to ship recently harvested crops?