As you know im anti single desk but

[malleefarmer]

You system is way way different to Australia hence my lack of knowledge.

But pre market freedom did you still have these railway issues?

Nothing easier than here dropping it at elevator 2 hours after its harvested or bag it or sell it dairy farmer or flour mill or feed mill. But comes at a cost our freight to port 160kms is obscene at $32 per tonnebut then again no issues like you guys have and payment as quick as six days after elevating.

[jensend]

its the usual story. when times are good its easy to ignore the structural problems in the system but when margins tighten up all the same old problems come back to haunt. it used to be producers could add value to their production by putting it through a livestock enterprise but with the scale of operations now you cant buy 50 loads of feeders and feed them with buckets. most of todays producers aren't mentally equipped to diversify let alone having the equipment required to have anoter enterprise.

[grrrr]

Mallee-Ports are 1600kms or more away and really only three of them. Mountains in one direction and the Great Lakes in the other.

[CptnObvious]

Only once in my 30 years of farming with the Wheat Board do I remember having grain left over at the end of the crop year and that was only for a couple of weeks.
The CWB used to co-ordinate rail traffic, not perfectly but better and fairer than what we have now.
The CWB also had the information and the power to sue the RRs( successfully) for level of service complaints. Post CWB the farmer isn't even the shipper anymore so we have no legal standing to sue.

[bucket]

Then you were obviously over contracting and had inside info on the acceptance levels.

[TOM4CWB]

CptnObvious...

Wow... that was obviously biased!

Yes others have taken the railways...to the CTA... and won. Nabers grain"

"Naber wins CN fight - The Western Producer
www.producer.com › News
Jun 20, 2002 - A small Saskatchewan grain company has chalked up another major ... Naber could theoretically use the CTA ruling to go to court to recover."

"Canadian Transportation Agency Concludes that CN Failed ...
cta-otc.gc.ca/.../canadian-transportation-agency-concludes-cn-failed-fulfi...
Feb 13, 2014 - The Agency concluded that CN 's grain handling and transportation [failed]... to provide rail service to Naber in Melfort and Star City, Saskatchewan."

Cptn... Please check before you state incorrect biases.

[farmaholic]

...or grew less than the minimums tonnes contractible.

[farmaholic]

Tom, but he did say it wasn't perfect. We need common ground. We need to quit lobbing shit grenades at each other. Maybe I should heed my own advice.

[Braveheart]

Yes Mallee, rail problems existed before, during, and after the CWB era. It is so complicated We don't have the space to explain all the issues.

Capsulized: captive shippers, oligopoly, geography, shippers fear of retribution by RR, weather, farm politics, William Ackman, Hunter Harrison, Claude Mongeaux, gutless government leadership, a complete lack of accountability, a spiderweb of far flung branchlines, and . . .

[TOM4CWB]

Cptn... I think I was distracted...

BTW CPTN

Pooling charged growers the interest costs... of waiting for letters of credit and logistics problems.. since the Initial Pymt was 55-60 percent... the CWB pooled the problem... it was still on growers account. If a CWB fixed price was contracted... the majority of the time... the basis discounted total payment by 20-40$/t... and the contingency fund was to take up problems we have now... as well.. which was also funded out of the basis and pools.

[TOM4CWB]

CPTN,

BTW,

Growers were NOT shippers... as anyone who had CWB shipping costs disallowed by NISA.

[bucket]

Farmaholic

I think some new faces are required.

You look at who shows up at the decision making and it seems like the same group.
New faces new ideas and finally new energy.