THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2017
VOL. 95 | NO. 49 | $4.25
Around the Farm See the latest in seeding technology | P. 57
Food security SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923
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WWW.PRODUCER.COM
Why are there food shortages in a land of plenty? | P. 18
MEET THE NEW BOSS
Nineteen-year-old TeddiAnn Skibsted is preparing to shoulder more of the responsibility on her family’s farm near Drumheller, Alta. SEE PAGE 25 FOR THE FULL STORY. | JAMES WESTGATE SNELL PHOTO
Cash receipts continue to increase
CN tackles grain delays Many changes won’t happen overnight, like hiring new train crews
BY BARB GLEN
u|xhHEEJBy00001pzYv%:^ DECEMBER 7, 2017 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Stn. Main, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4
BY SEAN PRATT
Canadian farm cash receipts for the January to September period have increased for the seventh consecutive year, Statistics Canada reports. Those receipts totalled $45.4 billion in the first three quarters of the year, a 3.3 percent increase from that same period in 2016. Farm cash receipts are not the same as net farm income, but the rising figures show a positive trend, said Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Ron Bonnett. “I think it demonstrates that there’s still growth taking place and there’s increased income in the sector, but there is some variability once you dig into the numbers, whether it be by crops or by region,” said Bonnett. Alberta had the highest level at $10.9 billion in farm cash receipts, up six percent from the January to September 2016 period. SEE FARM CASH RECEIPTS, PAGE 4
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SASKATOON NEWSROOM
Grainshippersaregettingnervous about Canadian National Railway’s faltering performance this fall, but the carrier says it has implemented changes that are already having an impact on service. CN’s performance measures have been plunging since Week 11 of the 2017-18 crop year. Its hopper car order fulfilment rate was 75 percent through Week 16 of this year compared to 90 percent for Canadian Pacific Railway, according to the Ag Transport Coalition. In Week 16 it was 64 percent. Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association, said his member companies are watching the numbers closely. “CN has recognized that they have an issue,” he said.
Sobkowich said the railway has informed the WGEA and the federal government that it was blindsided by the growth in intermodal traffic in Western Canada, which has reduced its ability to properly service the grain sector. CN has promised them that it is doing everything it can to increase capacity by bringing on new crews and adding locomotives as quickly as possible. “We’re in a wait and see mode,” said Sobkowich. “We feel we need to give them some time to do what they say they’re going to do, which is bring on more capacity here before we start kicking and screaming.” He said the good news is that the system isn’t getting too bottlenecked. “The (rail cars) that are arriving late aren’t crazy late. They’re one
week late,” he said. David Przednowek, director of grain marketing with CN, said a number of factors have disrupted grain movement, but none bigger than an unexpected 20 percent increase in volumes of other commodities being shipped in Western Canada this year. “The speed and the scale of that increase has put a strain on crews and locomotives,” he said in a recent podcast on the company’s website. Recovery in the energy sector has led to large increases in frack sand moving from Wisconsin to Western Canada, and more automobiles and coal are being shipped. CN has also been hit with a series of train derailments, including one in October that shut down the main line between Saskatoon and Edmonton. SEE GRAIN DELAYS, PAGE 5
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The Western Producer is published in Saskatoon by Western Producer Publications, which is owned by GVIC Communications Corp. Publisher: Shaun Jessome Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069240
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