What a way to run a railroad. Agriweek Mar 2

[SASKFARMER3]

Looked at buying a bullet back in the 80S having it moved to our yard from the town it was in. That was the cheap part then the inspections etc and every so many year inspections. Just became to big of a cost. Also you really don't store that much.

[bucket]

Tom

What do you want? Money for your failed court case attempt with merchant.

Maybe you haven't been reading things lately but the open market in canada is dysfunctional.

Your buddies in Ottawa have no interest in fixing it either.

They are going to get board seats - are you?

And to be clear, I doubt your conservative mp gives two shits about what happens at your farm unless he is looking for campaign money.

[Hamloc]

Store 2/3 of my fertilizer now hoping to put up more this year bins usually pay for themselves in a year. It is interesting to note the Urea price in New Orleans is now down to 280 a short ton down from over 330 in January which translates to a fair value in western canada of 515 a tonne. The vaseline jar is almost empty!!!!

[LEP]

Any attempt to make the market efficient requires infrastructure investment.

Fert storage is a start.

Fert storage on rail is better.

Fert storage and buying offshore is better again.

Not all that different from grain.

[grassfarmer]

LOL, start writing letters to your Con MP. As usual Tom is so far behind he thinks he is ahead. Lapped again.

[wmoebis]

Help me understand.
Why don't farmers sign contracts with fert companies for agreed price for delivery on an agreed month then the fert company store it until you are ready to pick it up?

Just like the grain system does.
Why do we have to supply bins for the fert Co's and the grain Co's and be their bankers too?

[bucket]

Grassfarmer


My MP David Anderson is already having letter to the editor pissing matches with other party candidates and the left constituents.

Good hey? Ignore the problems they are pointing out, to serve out a public service announcement from the conservatives through a letter to the editor.

I call the Ottawa office to get their opinion on the discrepancies about the transportation reports. They say they will get back to you but never do.

Constituency office pretends they know nothing and defers to Ottawa.

Must be good to ignore constituents?

For those that will vote conservative this time, at least ask what the **** they are doing about this dysfunctional system in marketing they implemented and their intent on getting both the railways and graincos from blaming each other while both profit at the expense of farmers.

[MBgrower]

Tom, nothing from stopping you from owning a railway company. Become a shareholder, organise fellow like minded farmers and individuals, create an investment company with a sole purpose to gain controlling interest in cn and cp. Railways have been a great investment in my portfoli.

[bucket]

Mbgrower

At what point do the railways realize they are losing money by not investing in themselves to handle more freight?

And at what point do governments realize they can't afford to rebuild public highways that don't need the heavy traffic on them in the first place?

[bucket]

Because farmers like having bins. It's like a gold star in elementary school.

Most were conditioned way back when and haven't shed that mindset yet.

4 farmers put up bins equalling the equivalent of a 10000 tonne elevator.

Beautiful but no closer to a transportation system. And they bought semis to compare as well.

I am not jealous, but I can't believe guys this smart wouldn't invest collectively to avoid the current system. They would be wealthier in the long run.

[dmlfarmer]

The only time prices have arbitraged since the loss of the CWB monopoly was when the severe drought in the US shorted supply there. We had excessive rail capacity for movement of the 2012 crop in both US and Canada. The return of normal crops in 2013 and 14 resulted in a exactly the same lack of arbitrage that existed under the CWB. So was the CWB actually the reason for the lack of arbitrage as Tom continues to claim or simply a symptom of a long known problem - transportation?

Without a doubt the loss of the monopoly was a boom to farmers living close to the border. But if you live more than a few hours away, without arbitrage it has not helped. Furthermore, what are the externalized costs of increased traffic and road repair as we try to truck grain much greater distances now to get higher prices?
WE are also facing buyer resistance for the loss of coordination of shipping, loss of Canadian branding, and even a loss of markets since the end of the CWB because multinational companies could care less if they sell Canadian wheat or wheat from another country as long as they sell. And don't forget we know enjoy a wider basis than we ever had under the CWB because of a lack of competition and price discovery. All these were unintended costs of the end of the CWB.
The biggest joke of all is as farmers we are continually being asked to take action which will no doubt benefit a few but when you take the time to actually learn about the problem and proposed solution you find most will be left worse off. No longer are farmers, farm groups, or government looking out for what is good for Canadian agricultural as a whole, they are only interested in what is in it for me.

[bucket]

Dmlfarmer

Well said. Do you think you could get your MP to understand what you just wrote. ?

I highly doubt it or they would be looking for a solution.

The exact same thing happened under the cwb and the conservatives said it was wrong? Their silence today speaks volumes on their misunderstanding and incompetence.

Our transportation system should be ready for the crops we grow now and into the future. It's not.

There is no vision.

And soon it won't matter how big a farmer you are this mess will hamstring your operation.