Poor harvest conditions are causing problems for more than farmers.
Everyone from farmers to elevator companies to exporters will likely face problems filling crop contracts if wet weather delays harvest for several more weeks.
In most years, farmers are well into harvest and would have been delivering grain to country elevators by September. Some of that would normally be well on its way to port.
“Grain isn’t arriving. It still has yet to be swathed,” said Alberta Agriculture’s Charlie Pearson.
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“I expect most grain companies would have a pretty active export program on the books.”
None of the grain companies contacted by theWestern Producerwere willing to talk about shipping or transportation problems.
Pearson said a fairly large crop inventory going into the new crop year would reduce potential problems, but inventory could be used up fairly quickly without any new crop coming in.
Errol Anderson with Pro Market Communications said grain companies needing grain to fill contracts could always bump up prices to try and tease some of the crop out of on-farm storage.
“They could sweeten the deal by narrowing the basis and trying to source it,” said Anderson.
“Everyone from farmers to exporters are caught in this. It’s going to be a scramble and growers just don’t have the product to deliver.”
John Lyons with the Canadian Wheat Board said a shortage of wheat for delivery is not widespread yet.
“We’re not seeing supply issues at port,” said Lyons, of Winnipeg.
Lyons said the board is having problems finding enough durum.
“We’d like to encourage farmers to deliver durum if they can.”
Kelli Svendsen, spokesperson with CN, wouldn’t speculate on how the slow harvest would affect grain movement over the next few weeks.
There is a preference for an even flow of grain,” she said.
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