Process and transfer elevators licensed by the Canadian Grain Commission will soon no longer be able to deduct for shrinkage against money owed to farmers.
The CGC on Wednesday said it would fix the maximum shrinkage allowance for licensed process and transfer elevators at zero, effective March 19.
That allowance is already fixed at zero for grain handlers’ CGC-licensed primary and terminal elevators.
Canadian farmers thus “can now expect consistent deductions when they deliver their grain to any type of elevator licensed by the Canadian Grain Commission,” CGC chief commissioner Elwin Hermanson said in a release Wednesday.
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In CGC licensing terms, a “process elevator” refers to a facility principally used for receiving and storing grain for direct manufacture or processing into other products — for example, an elevator operated by a grain miller, maltster, pulse processor or biofuel plant.
A “transfer elevator” means an elevator in the CGC’s Western or Eastern regions principally used to transfer grain that was officially inspected and officially weighed at another elevator.
In the CGC’s Eastern region, a transfer elevator can also be one principally used to transfer grain that was officially inspected and officially weighed at another elevator, and to receive, clean and store eastern or foreign grain.
The commission said its decision, which will be carried out through amendments to the Canada Grain Regulations, was “based on consultations with producers and industry stakeholders.”
The Canada Grain Act authorizes the CGC to regulate the maximum shrinkage allowances at elevators — but not to regulate shrinkage for grain dealers, the commission noted.
