CHURCHILL, Man. – The bitter wind was first to greet the group of grain brokers as they stepped off their chartered plane onto the tarmac.
But from the moment they entered the airport at Canada’s northern port, they were met with the kind of warm hospitality reserved for VIPs.
The group, from Agritrans, A.J. Bat Export, and North West Terminals, had commandeered 24,500 tonnes of feed peas from Saskatchewan and herding them through this port on their way to Europe.
It is this kind of traffic that port owners Omnitrax – and the community Ð are counting on to breathe life into the subarctic outpost.
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Mayor Michael Spence showed up to have dinner with the group and thanked them for their work.
Port president Alan Johnson took the visitors’ bags, and ferried them about in his minivan, making sure they got to see the town’s most famous residents, the polar bears.
And he arranged for the group to go out on a tugboat to see the MV Cheetah, the ship waiting five miles out in Hudson’s Bay for its turn to berth at the port.
Agritrans president David Nyznyk booked the trip with the hope of watching feed peas rolling out the terminal’s spout into the Cheetah’s holds.
Instead, he saw the MV Golden Sari being loaded with wheat destined for Turkey.
The delay was one of many “hiccups” in what some industry observers see as an experiment in shipping non-wheat board grains through Churchill.
Nyznyk started thinking about shipping feed peas through the port last spring.
He had an order from one of Europe’s largest grain companies, and thought he could save $5 (U.S.) per tonne by moving the peas through Churchill rather than Thunder Bay. His buyer was game to test a new option, although shy about publicity.
“It goes without saying that he ruffled some feathers” by using Churchill, said Nyznyk, who kept his eye on the crop in the fields, and waited for prices to hit his target, but kept his intentions quiet.
He didn’t want word to get out that he might try to send peas north, in case it moved prices in the country, or spooked sellers.
“We didn’t want to chance it,” he said.
On Sept. 10, feed pea prices reached Nyznyk’s targets. That’s when Allan Johnston’s team of brokers in Welwyn, Sask., sprung into action.
Johnston, a longtime Churchill supporter, figures the deal gave farmers a 25 to 75-cents per bushel advantage, depending on their location.
Broker Larry Weber worked the phones all weekend, talking to farmers, farmer-owned grain terminals, processors and grain companies. By Monday, he had nailed down about 75 percent of the supply needed for the shipment.
“It’s kind of ironic, because I spent the better part of my life trying to close this place down,” Weber reflected.
Premium peas
More than 60 carloads of peas came from North West Terminals at Unity, Sask. Bart Brown, manager of grain operations, was “ecstatic.” For the price offered, he was able to ship mostly edible green peas for a premium.
“It was a good deal for us,” said Brown, noting farmers were paid within days.
“If it hadn’t been for this delivery, there would be a lot of peas out there we hadn’t moved yet.”
But getting past the 18,000-tonne mark wasn’t easy, said Nyznyk. Grain companies weren’t interested in the business.
And then, there was car allocation.
“It was a little bit of a nightmare,” he said.
Gary Rennick, chief operating officer with Omnitrax Canada, which owns the port and 1,300 kilometres of line leading up to it, said car supply was the biggest hurdle for the deal.
Omnitrax should have jumped into the car allocation process earlier, he said. But, he added, the Canadian Wheat Board and railways helped pull things together.
The deal “almost crashed” a number of times. “We
didn’t give up. We just had to push,” said Rennick.
By Oct. 21, all the cars carrying peas had been moved to The Pas, Man., where Omnitrax took over.
Meanwhile, snow, gale-force winds, and a nervous ship captain caused some delays at the port.
Three ships arrived around the same time. A vessel chartered by Saskatchewan Wheat Pool was loaded with feed peas and alfalfa pellets first. Then, “commercial arrangements” were made to let the larger Golden Sari berth before the Cheetah, said Nyznyk.
Water levels at the port are low at this time of year. The harbor needs to be dredged, so the terminal has to work with the tides.
Rennick praised the terminal’s unionized workers, who agreed to work long shifts and overtime to get the ships loaded before the end of October, when insurance rates for the port skyrocket.
The terminal workers loaded Cheetah with feed peas early last week. The vessel was slated to arrive in Europe this week.
Until the ship arrives, and all costs are accounted for, Nyznyk said he won’t know for sure how much money he saved for his customer.
“This was a new way of doing things for Canada,” he said.
