Producer cars shipments in 2009-10 are on track to break the record of 13,243 established just last year.
Lonny McKague isn’t surprised.
McKague, who farms at Ogema, Sask., has three jobs.
He raises cattle, he works at Big Sky Farms and he ships grain in producer cars.
“What do you think my bright spot is?” he said with a laugh.
Cattle prices are tanking and Big Sky Farms has filed for creditor protection.
Meanwhile, producer cars continue to put additional dollars into farmers’ pockets.
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McKague said the savings that can be achieved by shipping producer cars and avoiding elevator handling fees are the number one reason for their growing popularity.
Those savings are in the range of $1,000 to $1,200 per car compared with the cost of shipping the same grain through a country elevator, he said. He added that he heard one report of a farmer saving $1,400 on a car.
Barry Dakiw, who administers producer cars for the Canadian Grain Commission, said a combination of a big crop and consistent car supply has helped shipments get off to a good start.
The railways are performing well, there haven’t been any problems at port and movement has been largely trouble free.
“I’m not getting any complaints and that’s always a good sign,” he said.
Another reason for the steady growth in producer car shipments has been the increased number of short lines being set up by farmers, with interest starting to spread beyond Saskatchewan into Alberta and Manitoba.
McKague said the Red Coat Rail line, which runs for 171 kilometres from Assiniboia to just east of Ogema, has been picking up new customers and expanding its catchment area.
Canadian Wheat Board spokesperson John Lyons said the board expects about the same number of producer cars this year as last.
He said the fast start this year also reflects that grain movement got off to a slow start a year ago.
In recent years, CWB grains have accounted for more than 95 percent of producer car shipments.
McKague said he’s confident that shipments in 2009-10 will establish a new record based on the number of cars already ordered and booked.
However, the possibility of a drop in movement of durum could slow grain movement.
The wheat board has announced an acceptance level of just 40 percent for the series A durum contract.
“If it stays at that 40 to 50 percent level, that will definitely impact the number of producer cars,” said McKague.
Ironically, while interest in producer cars grows, the fate of many producer car loading sites is up in the air in the wake of Canadian National Railways’ announcement earlier this fall that it would delist 53 producer car loading sites across the Prairies.
The rail company said the sites are not being used.
A number of farm groups and politicians protested the railway’s decision and CN agreed to keep the tracks and switches in place until Jan. 1, 2010, to allow farmers or other groups time to make business proposals for the sites.
