Bernard Nagel is getting ready to harvest an average to above average crop but cannot unload his bins full of last year’s grain.
The hog and grain producer from Darcy, Sask., says local elevators are unable to take shipments.
“They are very reluctant to bring grain in ahead of time because there’s not enough cars to get rid of it and they can’t afford to tie up the bin space with grain that isn’t going to move,” Nagel said.
That produces a twofold headache for the producer who has farmed for more then 30 years and who usually delivers last year’s grain to the elevator by July 31.
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Nagel said he relies on a neighbour to truck his grain to the elevator, but that’s not always possible on short notice.
“By the time he can, the elevator can’t take it in,” he said.
In addition, he took a cash advance on the grain, which must be repaid this month.
“It’s looking like I may be on the hook for some default, which is way beyond my control,” said Nagel.
“I’m stressed right out and fed up.”
Additional stress on the farm this year comes from increases in input and fuel costs that don’t correspond with similar increases in Nagel’s returns on production.
Adding insult to injury was July’s hot, humid weather, which downgraded Nagel’s fall rye, spring wheat and barley crops.
“The crop was really looking good until the hot weather,” he said.
Nagel still expects a good crop but can’t predict the quality until he gets into the field.
Clay Babecy, agribusiness account representative at the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool elevator in Rosetown, Sask., said farmers’ patience is running out.
He needs 100 to 200 cars a week to move grain out of the area, saying an allotment of 500 more cars through the winter could have helped with the backlog.
“Till we get it out the north door, I can’t bring it in the south door,” Babecy said.
He speculated that more grain came in than expected by year end on July 31.
There is also more business for Rosetown elevators since the recent closure of a smaller handling facility.
The pea harvest is under way and will stress the elevator’s capacity further, he added.
Sask Pool said the situation is normal for year end when farmers are trying to clear out their bins.
Grain is moving well in most areas, except for southwestern Saskatchewan.
Fran Malecha, SWP’s senior vice-president of the grain group, said Canadian Wheat Board sales have slowed so there are fewer rail car allocations to elevators.
“If the wheat board doesn’t have sales the week the grain comes in, it will plug the system somewhere, whether plugging it in the country or plugging it in the port position.” he said.
Both SWP and the wheat board are working to clear up the situation by mid-August.
“We’re all trying to do what we can,” Malecha said.
Mark Dyck, manager of rail logistics with the wheat board in Winnipeg, said the board is working to get cars into key spots where there are delivery problems such as the Rosetown-Kindersley area in Saskatchewan and the Peace region in Alberta.
The Peace region has faced mudslides, derailments and staff shortages, while Rosetown farmers brought in a bountiful harvest last year.
“They had a good year there and we’re just trying to get caught up there,” Dyck said.
The CWB would have liked to see more rail cars at the elevators earlier in the year, but they were not available, he said.
Most elevators will finish with shipments of last year’s crop by mid-August, but the Rosetown area will have carryover.
He said CWB is committed to moving the old crop and will not call for red spring wheat until it has cleaned that up.
Dyck acknowledged durum prices have slowed and are “not where we’d like them to be.”
