VULCAN, Alta. — Slow movement of last year’s bumper prairie crop remains a topic of concern and complaint among southern Alberta farmers.
Several gathered in this southern Alberta town yesterday to meet with participants on a crop tour organized by CWB that included CWB commodity risk management director Justin Daniels, Parrish & Heimbecker senior export trader Del Dosdall and Nidera B.V. agricultural research analyst Ali Dourodian.
Southern Alberta fared better than other regions of the Prairies in terms of grain shipped, because railways chose areas with quick turnaround when the federal government legislated shipping volume minimums earlier this year.
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However, farmers said they fear the railways’ failure to get their commodities to port in timely fashion has harmed the country’s reputation as a reliable supplier.
“I don’t think buyers are going to hold a grudge for very long,” said Daniels.
“They are all about finding the quality they need.”
He said buyers will now be looking to see whether the grain shipping system begins running smoothly again and when it does, purchases are likely to resume.
“Every year there’s a shipping problem somewhere in the world,” he said. “Maybe this rail bill is just the start of looking at the transportation system again.”
Dosdall said there seems to be no clear definition for the way Canada’s railways allocate grain cars, nor do grain companies seem to have a good system for obtaining needed cars once a sale is made.
“How do you know what your service level is going to be, six months down the road,” said Dosdall.
He said all grain companies were caught off-guard when the size of last year’s crop became evident. At one point this winter, the P & H terminal at the port of Vancouver was empty of grain, with ships waiting in the harbour and the company awaiting delivery of grain by rail to fill its orders.
“It was very frustrating,” he said.
Glenn Logan, who farms near Lomond, Alta., said plans should be made to prevent any repeats of this year’s slow crop movement. Railways are expected to still be moving last year’s crop next spring, and another crop will be coming off the Prairies in the meantime.
“Collectively, we have to get this sorted out because we don’t want to become the sellers of last resort,” said Logan.
He said he is also worried about projected increases in oil production, which could take rail capacity away from grain.
