Farmers paying more than fair share for freight says study.

[mustardman]

Gerald_sk I remember having a discussion on a radio talk show with Byron Dorgan (U.S politician) who was pushing to have Canada eliminate the Crow rate as it was a "Subsidy" and unfair. LOL.
I asked him how about the mississippi waterways that were taken care of by the U.S Army corp of Engineers. Wasn't that a Subsidy. "Oh that's different because Everything that goes down the waterway is subsidized not just grain" LOL

Typical American viewpoint don't do as we do but do as we say.

[ado089]

Wcfarmer, if it worked that way we could all just buy rr shares and quit farming. Come on there is a time to defend free enterprise and a time to say enough is enough. There is absolutely no competition in the rr industry, what is there, a 100 mile strip where the carriers overlap. The rr system has been part of the political marginalization of western canada since day one, now its an issue that economically hamstringed the west. Change needs to occur.

[gustgd]

Wheat board propaganda

http://www.cwb.ca/en/hot/railissues/costingreview/

For you true policy nerds.
All Level of service submissions

http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/policy/acg-rfs-review-examen-sfm-sbmsns-eng-443.htm

While I have not read many. I have talked to people who have. Amazingly there is quite a bit of common ground over many submissions.
This is what Pulse Canada is asking for?
1) Service performance standards

2)Ongoing performance measurement, some kind of an independant monitor

3)Financial consequences for non performance. Its already there on shippers. now we need some reciprocal penalties.

4)Empower the Canadian transportation Agency to conduct independent investigations.

5) Quick independant dispute resolution process

If we as an Ag community can agree on these points. it would be a great start.

[jefarm]

Maybe this will answer your question. It is Bayers official policy. Not exactly farm friendly. Bayer has a lot of nerve flexing their muscle at a crisis time like this. Here it is

June 29, 2010
Bayer Volunteer Canola Position
Given the extreme weather conditions that we have experienced this
spring, a number of growers have been unable to get into fields to seed
their certified InVigor hybrid seed. A number of these growers who grew
InVigor® canola in 2009 have inquired about the ability of leaving the
volunteer canola growing in these fields and allowing them to mature in
an attempt to harvest a marketable crop.
While we sympathize that this spring has been very difficult and
understand the desire to attempt to harvest a volunteer canola crop,
Bayer can not endorse this practice or support the application of Liberty®
to control weeds within these fields.
The practice of leaving volunteer canola the following year for a crop is
not a sound agronomic practice. Research has shown that this practice
very seldom is successful enough to make a crop and in most cases is
tilled under or sprayed out later in the year.
Many factors contribute to this poor outcome:
· The volunteer canola crop is not an InVigor hybrid.
· The volunteer canola crop in the field will be very uneven in
germination, emergence and plant population, resulting in multiple
crop stages and low yield.
· Timing of herbicide applications will be difficult due to the multiple
stages of the volunteer canola crop and weeds.
· Successful weed control will be difficult due to the lack of competition
and uneven plant population.
· Harvest of the volunteer canola crop will be challenging because
much of the canola in the field will either over ripen and shell out or
be immature resulting in high green seed counts.
· The volunteer canola crop will be low yielding as it is a mixture of
some of the original hybrids, some of the original parents that made
the hybrid, and possibly volunteers from previous years of other
canola systems.
· Within the volunteer canola crop, approximately 15% of these plants
will be susceptible to Liberty herbicide and 10% of these plants will
also be non-pollen producing.
In 2010, Bayer launched the Liberty and Trait Agreement (LTA). This
agreement protects the intellectual property of Bayer with respect to
InVigor and Liberty. Under this agreement, it is illegal for a grower to
save seed from an InVigor crop for the purpose of growing a crop or
harvesting a crop from volunteers derived from an InVigor crop in the
field. This is consistent with the bag license that has been in place for
many years on all LibertyLink® canola varieties. Growers applying
Liberty to these fields and harvesting seed from these fields are in
breach of the LTA and/or bag license.
Bayer CropScience Inc.
Suite 200
160 Quarry Park Blvd SE
Calgary, AB T2C 3G3
BayerCropScience.ca
Growers in breach of the LTA and/or bag license risk being audited and
forfeiting their LTA agreement in the future.
Bayer will not support the practice of growing and attempting to market a
volunteer canola crop in 2010 or anytime in the future. Bayer
recommends that growers in this situation spray out the volunteer canola
field with an application of glyphosate plus a Group 4 (phenoxy) product.
Bayer appreciates the trusted relationships we have with our InVigor
customers and looks forward to working with them in the future to deliver
the highest value we can on the farm. Bayer is committed to bringing the
highest quality products to the market to support the InVigor brand and
the future will see the introduction of new traits such as pod shatter,
sclerotinia and others that will continue to deliver increased value to
growers. Ensuring Bayer has an agreement in place to protect the
investments in technology and research for these products is essential.
Sincerely,
Rob Schultz Brad Ewankiw
Director of Sales, Western Canada Manager, Oilseeds Crops –
InVigor Seed