Last week I wrote a column urging railroads to invest more resources in developing better forecasts of growing crops, I demanded that the federal government not reduce the amount or quality of data and analysis it is providing on the agriculture industry, and I suggested somebody like the Canada Grains Council take on the role of collecting and collating up-to-date estimates of crop size – both now and for future years – to supply to people like the railroads. (Here is the column if you want to read it.)
Read Also
Worrisome drop in grain prices
Prices had been softening for most of the previous month, but heading into the Labour Day long weekend, the price drops were startling.
Some of what I wrote was based on a speech and comments made by Canadian National Railway executive vice president Jean-Jacques Ruest at the Canadian Global Crops Symposium, and some from an interview I did with Ruest after the speech and panel discussion.
It was fascinating for me to briefly see inside the thinking of a senior railroading executive, which is a realm that neither I nor 99.9999 percent of Prairie farmers often wander into.
So I thought I’d share with you the interview I did with him. Check out the eight minute audio file here: Jean-Jacques Ruest and Me
Ruest wants the farming and agriculture industry to help the railroads to get a better sense of what’s coming in future years, so there’s the challenge to all of you: Ruest says the railroads can develop the capacity to pull the extra millions of tonnes of crop Prairie farmers are planning to grow in future years, but need a way to understand that better.
