Reading Time: 2 minutes CNSC – Accolades from producer groups and others in the grain industry continue to roll in for the federal government’s upcoming transportation legislation. The planned measures were outlined this week by Marc Garneau, the federal transportation minister, in a speech in Montreal. The new legislation will allow reciprocal penalties in service level agreements between railway […] Read more
Grains sector continues to welcome transport legislation
CP offers assurances for 2016-17 grain handle
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) says it’s ready and willing to move a bumper Prairie crop in 2016-17. “Operationally, CP is eager and prepared to move grain this coming crop year,” company CEO Hunter Harrison said in a letter to federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau. The letter, dated Tuesday, was also circulated to Prairie transportation and […] Read more
Debate: Sask. ag leaders seek rail response
Reading Time: 2 minutes If there’s one thing all Saskatchewan’s political parties can agree on, it’s that the current rail system isn’t working for grain producers — but there’s less consensus on the solutions. Transportation is the single most important issue facing grain growers in Saskatchewan right now, said Cathy Sproule, the provincial New Democrats’ ag critic, during an […] Read more
Does Western Canada still need a grain transportation co-ordinator?
The answer may be no, but there’s still a need for improved logistics between railways and grain companies
Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s been two years since the start of the infamous grain transportation backlog of 2013-14, but there’s still debate about whether a new organization should take over the former Canadian Wheat Board’s role as a transportation co-ordinator. “Most people like to focus on ’13-14 and say, ‘Look at the problems we created without the single […] Read more
Cereals North America: Communication key to improved grain transportation
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | CNS Canada –– Canada’s grain transportation system is running relatively smoothly for the time being, but there is still plenty of room for improvement — and better communication between participants is seen as a way to alleviate future bottlenecks. The 2013-14 crop year, with its logistical challenges and, eventually, federal government intervention, are […] Read more
Transportation review recommendations
Ritz says shippers should be able to charge for cars not delivered on time
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg — Ongoing assessment of the grain transportation system and better protection for small shippers are two of the eight recommendations made by the Crop Logistics Working Group (CLWG). They will now be submitted to the Canada Transportation Act Review for consideration. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz was in Winnipeg Monday to announce the findings of […] Read more
Trade ‘balancing act’ in focus at ag ministers’ meeting
Reading Time: 3 minutes With foreign governments urging Canada to open up its protected dairy, poultry and egg markets, the country’s provincial agriculture ministers are unanimously counter-urging in supply management’s defense. Pressure from trading partners and strong regional support in principle for supply management are nothing new. But Canada’s annual ag ministers’ meeting, held this week in Charlottetown, wrapped […] Read more
Plenty of blame to go around for grain shipping debacle
A year into the great grain fiasco, it’s no longer only about the railways
Reading Time: 6 minutes UPDATED, June 21, 2015: The 2013 harvest should have been a time of wild celebration. Prairie farmers had produced a bin-busting crop with a record-smashing 76 million tonnes, and with good crop prices, the entire West should have struck up the music and started to dance. Instead, logistics turned the dream into a nightmare, and […] Read more
Are Canada’s farm organizations actually listening to their members?
Amid the falling commodity prices and rising input costs, one question is getting louder. Who do our farm organizations really represent?
Reading Time: 7 minutes The last few years have been tumultuous for Canadian grain farmers, especially in the West. Not only have we seen the end of the single-desk CWB monopoly, but we also watched as Ottawa passed Bill C-18, the Agriculture Growth Act (which included the approving UPOV 91) and as major changes were made to AgriStability. Farmers […] Read more
Moving grain to market
Truckers and farmers are still figuring each other out following a massive move to hired transport
Reading Time: 6 minutes The 2014 crop is in the bin, and farmers now face their two perennial post-harvest challenges. They must market their grains and oilseeds amid a challenging world scene, and they must move those harvests efficiently off the farm. Over the past 20 years, the way they’ve done that second job has changed dramatically. Back when […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
