Canadians Turn To U.S. Railroads For Assistance Farmers Seeking New Ways To Transport Grain To Market

Canadian grain could be making its way to U.S. ports on American railways as early as this fall if a group of farmers in southwest Saskatchewan has its way.

Ron Gleim, with the Southwest Regional Transportation Council, said a number of farmers met recently with officials from the U.S.-based Burlington Northern Railroad.

“They told us that they’re more than interested in our business and they’re going to work with us to facilitate a shipload of grain, probably to Portland or Seattle, hopefully this fall,” Gleim said.

Gleim said farmers are frustrated with inefficiencies in the Canadian system and the looming threat of branch-line abandonment.

The Canadian government is set to lift its protection of rail lines at the end of 1995.

CN Rail and CP Rail will then be able to close about 500 miles of low-volume branch lines across Saskatchewan that are expensive to maintain.

Gleim said farmers would likely truck their grain across the border and load it directly onto the U.S. train.

The council, comprising representatives from urban and rural municipalities in the southwest corner of the province, was established to study what impact branch line closures, grain elevator consolidation and extended trucking will have on their communities and bank accounts.

“There’s a lot of farmers willing to do whatever it takes for an extra dime,” said council member and farmer Rodger Stefan.

“If a guy can make a buck at it, don’t worry, it’ll happen,” said Stefan, also the mayor of Limerick, a village about 125 miles southwest of Regina.

Burlington Northern’s Ian Townsend, who attended the meeting, said the demise of a 100-year-old grain transportation subsidy and uncertainties surrounding the future of the Canadian Wheat Board have forced Canadian farmers to examine all their options when it comes to shipping grain.

Some farmers have called for an end to the wheat board’s monopoly over grain marketing. They argue they should be allowed to bypass the agency and sell their grain directly to market. A panel studying the issue has yet to make its final recommendations.

“Everybody’s just kind of scrambling trying to figure what they might be able to do,” Townsend said.