Losses from hurricanes, tornadoes, drought and other severe weather events totaled more than any other year besides 2005, the year of Hurricane Katrina.
The Department of Agriculture's final report for 2012 says farm income increased despite the drought, because of high prices for crops that made it to market. But the drought is continuing into winter and could affect next year's harvests.
Every year roughly $180 billion worth of freight makes its way up and down the Mississippi River. An epic shortage of water on the nation's major inland waterways is expected to put upward pressure on everything from food items, to electricity.
The Mississippi River hovers at record lows as a result of the drought in the Midwest. It could soon mean big problems for the shipping industry on the river.
