Farmers affected by transportation delays and other backlogs in the grain transportation system are encouraged to connect with their local farm business management specialist to get personalized advice and resources on how to deal with this challenging situation. This announcement was made by Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Minister Ron Kostyshyn.
“Many Manitoba farmers had high-yield, good-quality crops last year but poor rail service and transportation delays mean most of it is still in the bin,” said Minister Kostyshyn. “I know that grain sitting in the bin is money out of farmers’ pockets and not good for Manitoba’s economy. The federal government and rail companies must get together and get to work finding solutions to support farmers.”
“Many farmers haven’t been able to move the grain they worked so hard to produce and we must work together to ease this transportation bottleneck,” said Doug Chorney, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers.
Farmers affected by the backlog can seek out advice of Manitoba’s farm management specialists. Manitoba’s farm business management specialists are located in GO Offices across the province and can provide advice and resources at no cost to producers on:
- financial management and production economics,
- marketing plan development, and
- risk management.
The minister noted that today’s grain transportation challenges are outside the control of producers but have a significant impact on their cash flow and profitability. He has been in regular communication with leaders in Manitoba’s agriculture industry on this issue.
More information and advice for producers is also available online at www.manitoba.ca/agriculture.
