V6 Agronomy and the Port of Johnstown have reactivated a long-dormant section of the St. Lawrence Seaway to create a modern trade corridor connecting western Canadian farmers to eastern Canadian and international markets.

WHY IT MATTERS: Prairie farmers use a lot of phosphate fertilizer.

V6 is a Canadian developer of compound and specialty fertilizers. The company was founded in 2012 and has been operating an inland fertilizer terminal in Wilcox, Sask., since 2020.

The firm is in the process of building Odyssey Terminal, a new marine fertilizer terminal at the Port of Johnstown, 100 kilometres south of Ottawa on the St. Lawrence Seaway.

The port, which was built in the early 1930s, is owned by the Edwardsburgh Cardinal Township.

It has an old grain terminal that services about 1,200 farms in eastern Ontario. The terminal is busy from the fall until the close of the river in early January.

Phase 1 of the Odyssey Terminal project includes construction of a 20,000-tonne fertilizer storage building that can accommodate a full Handysize bulk carrier vessel.

The terminal will have infrastructure capable of loading 14 rail cars per day that will transport the fertilizer to Western Canada.

The facility will also be capable of loading trucks for the local market.

The engineering work for Phase 1 is complete. Construction will begin in April and is expected to be complete by July 2026.

Phase 2 will add another 50,000 tonnes of storage to accommodate the loading of rail cars all winter. That phase is scheduled for completion in late 2027 or early 2028.

Phase 3 will be a potash export facility to be used by various players in that part of the fertilizer business. It would require “significant investment.” The goal is to complete that phase in 2029.

“That will be kind of a pressure release valve for the existing (potash) supply chain as that market grows as well,” said Ryan Brophy, chief executive officer of V6.

Trade connections

The new corridor will link inbound fertilizer with outbound grain, pulses and other agricultural products through a marine-rail pathway.

In late November 2025, the Federal Montreal arrived at the port, the first bulk vessel carrying fertilizer cargo to dock there in ages.

“This moment marks the renewal of a corridor that has been dormant for nearly three decades,” Brophy said in a December 2025 press release.

“By reactivating this gateway, we are creating a reliable, efficient and globally competitive route that benefits farmers from the Prairies to the Great Lakes. It is a major step forward for Canada’s agricultural sector.”

That first shipment was a small trial run containing 3,000 tonnes of the company’s proprietary Eleven Superstart granular compound fertilizer shipped in bags.

Once the terminal is constructed, it will be able to receive, store and distribute a range of products, including enhanced efficiency fertilizers and commercial phosphate fertilizer.

Brophy said an estimated 85 per cent of the phosphate used by Canadian farmers is U.S. produced or sourced product that is barged up the Mississippi River from New Orleans.

V6 will be sourcing its bulk phosphate from Morocco, Egypt and Algeria. The goal is to be receiving 480,000 tonnes of non-U.S. origin phosphate per year by 2029-30.

“We aren’t subject to water levels on the Mississippi River or if a hurricane happens to shut down production in Florida,” he said.

The company will also be importing its Eleven Superstart fertilizer in bulk from manufacturers in the European Union and North Africa. It had been importing that product by container for 10 years.

The fertilizer products will be shipped to distributors at multiple discharge points in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

V6 will also continue shipping its proprietary products direct to farmers.

Outbound phosphate shipments from the port will be paired with return Canadian National Railway loads of pulses, potash, grains and sulphur that will be transported to markets in the European Union, Middle East, North Africa and Asia.

The company is working with Prairie-based grain brokers who purchase crops from Canadian growers.

“Our biggest focus is going to be durum and canola because those are the commodities that are going to best fill full Handysize vessels,” said Brophy.

However, the company will also handle other crops such as flax, pulses and special crops. The port can stuff containers.

“We’re looking to be able to move 100,000 tonnes (of grain) through that elevator,” he said.

The post New phosphate fertilizer trade corridor planned appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

“I was certainly very deeply honoured and humbled to receive this honour,” said Jayas, the current president of the University of Lethbridge.

Around May, Jayas learned he was going to be entered into the Order of Manitoba, the province’s highest honour, when he got a call from Anita Neville, the lieutenant governor of Manitoba, .

“I was thrilled. I did not expect it, so it was a pleasant surprise,” said Jayas.

The formal ceremony will be held on Thursday, July 17, at the Manitoba Legislative Building.

Jayas has a long-standing relationship with Manitoba. After completing a Bachelor of Agricultural Engineering at G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in Pantnagar, India, Jayas moved from India to Winnipeg to do his master’s at the University of Manitoba.

“At the time when I finished my master’s, the department did not have a PhD program. I probably would have stayed in Manitoba to do my PhD, but then I went to the University of Saskatchewan to do my PhD,” he said.

Jayas is an agricultural engineer, which means he uses the application of engineering to solve problems in the biological world. Grain is a biological material that spoils, making it the perfect system for agriculture engineering storage systems, he said. Jayas is world-renowned in his research on how to stop grain spoilage by measuring carbon dioxide.

For his master’s degree, Jayas studied how spoiling grains produces carbon dioxide, moisture and heat.

Temperature measurement and heat are commonly used as indicators of spoilage, but Jayas chose to study the increase in carbon dioxide. He was interested in using sensors to measure carbon dioxide in the grain bin. He looked at the best location to put a sensor, even if it wasn’t clear where spoilage was occurring in the bin. He wanted to find out the minimum resolution of the sensor that could be used to detect spoilage.

“Carbon dioxide is a very good spoilage indicator, because the ambient carbon dioxide is so low, so if the carbon dioxide goes up, it would be able to give the warning sign for the anticipated spoilage,” he said.

Over the years, he has completed mathematical modelling work to understand the stored grain ecosystem. Jayas also worked with the horizontal air flow drying systems and developed techniques to find insects in grain based on thermal imaging and near infrared imaging. He led the research team that created the first 3D model to track heat, moisture and carbon dioxide in grain storage. He has collaborated with researchers in Canada, China, Ukraine, India and the United States and made a significant impact on grain storage, drying and handling systems. His work has led to the rapid adoption of carbon dioxide use in insect control programs. Jayas has co-authored over 1,000 technical articles in scientific journals, conference proceedings and books dealing with issues of storing, drying, handling and quality monitoring of grains.

Over the 30 years of his research and teaching career, Jayas has earned many accolades.

He was the vice-president of the University of Manitoba and a distinguished professor in the Department of Biosystems Engineering .

When Jayas gained that title, it was limited to only 20 professors in the province,

“Somebody had to retire or resign before the new opening would occur,” he said.

Jayas has also had the honour of being named a senior Canada Research Chair in stored grain ecosystems by the federal government. He was involved with the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada, serving first on the council and then as interim president. Jayas has been inducted into the Manitoban and Canadian Agricultural Halls of Fame.

Jayas became a member of the Order of Canada in 2018. He was recognized for the work he has done on agri-food systems and the changes his work has brought to Canada and globally.

He has been married for over 40 years to his wife, Manju, and they have three sons and five grandchildren.

Jayas is a believer in the power of research. It can help solve whatever problem farmers, or society in general is facing, he said.

“Research helps in understanding what the causes of the issue are, or the causes of the problem are, and then helps find the solutions. Research also helps in creating a unique training environment for undergraduate and graduate students because they work on that research program and it helps generate the ideas which then can be either commercialized or popularized,” he said.

“As an example, horizontal air flow drying, I decided not to patent it. Rather than patenting it, I decided to share that to the farming community and then many other companies now build and market horizontal air flow drying systems,” he said.

“Research generates guidelines which farmers can use and helps in growing the cultural aspect in the society which is very important for improving the living standards in any society,” he said.

Jayas grew up on a farm in India and was influenced by the work ethic of his grandparents. His grandfather was committed to building and supporting the community, a value Jayas shares, having learned the value of volunteerism observing his grandfather. He also took much of the inspiration for his life’s work due to his time growing up on the farm.

“I saw a lot of problems farmers face and the help they needed to solve those problems,” he said. “Grain storage, the issue that I have worked on most of my life, really, was because I used to see so many grains spoiling in India. And I always used to think there must be something which could be done to reduce the spoilage of grains,” he said.

“I’m very grateful for the students and also my colleagues or other researchers in the grain industry, because most of the research projects build on their earlier former accomplishments, and they complement what other people have done,” he said. Undergraduate students, graduate students, post-docs and other researchers have also contributed to his work and allowed him to achieve everything he has done so far.

Jayas is currently the president and vice-chancellor at the University of Lethbridge. He was attracted by the smaller city, and the smaller university.

The University of Lethbridge was also committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and creating a respectful environment.

When he had visited Lethbridge in the past, he found the university and the general community both very welcoming.

“The university was also looking at the possibility of starting a program in agriculture engineering, so hopefully with my background, I can help with that,” he said.

The post Digvir Jayas, renowned scientist and professor emeritus from the University of Manitoba, invited to receive the Order of Manitoba this July appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

This fight starts at harvest time, said Breanna Miller, agronomy specialist for the Canola Council of Canada, with moisture levels — anything that is coming off at less than eight per cent moisture is relatively safe for storage.

“We had some fairly dry canola right across the Prairies this year,” said Miller, who is based in Portage La Prairie, Man. “However, the temperatures were so hot at harvest, so we really encouraged running fans to try and cool it off and get some air in the bin.”

Why it matters: Stored canola can quickly over heat, ruining the work of an entire growing season.

At harvest, it’s good to be aware of green canola, weeds and insects that can raise the heat over winter. This fall, some canola went into the bins extremely hot, and stayed in there, posing a potential storage and spoilage issue. Spoilage can happen anytime, even shortly after harvest, if canola goes into the bin a little too moist or too hot.

“That canola goes straight into the bin and is cooped up without any airflow,” she said. “Again, a lot of [farmers] were running their fans trying to get some air movement in there, when the humidity wasn’t up outside.”

It’s extremely important to watch for hot canola and spoilage throughout the winter.

“At this time of year, when the outside of the bin is so cold, we start to have cold air and cold canola on the outside of the bin, with that really hot canola inside,” she said.

This is when growers can run into condensation and some spoilage occurring, especially when the canola starts to heat.

“It’s really important to run fans, kind of early in the season, to get the air flow in there, and try to cool things down,” she said.

Running fans when it is cold outside to try and get some of the cool air through the bin and circulate that air is also beneficial, she said. Temperature and moisture can be issues once condensation occurs. Warm air in the centre of the bin can rise and cools off once it hits some of the cooler surrounding canola, or cooler air. When moisture is released, the hot canola can affect the cooler canola, and there can be heat, and spoilage.

Storing canola dry is very important, said Miller.

“We want to store the canola at eight per cent moisture,” she said. “But a hot temperature can also lead to condensation, and there can be mixtures of the two temperatures.”

Hot canola is warm to the touch and smells spoiled. Sometimes steam can rise off it. In winter, if a producer suspects they have hot canola, they really want to take advantage of the colder outside temperature.

“Running our fans to try and suck in that cold outside air and put it to the centre of the bin, where we have that warm air, where we’re going to see the issues. If a grower doesn’t have aeration or fans, it’s a good idea to ‘spin the bin’,” she said. This means taking out some canola out of the bin, which some of the heat from the middle warm pocket. The canola can then be augured back on top. That distributes the heat and helps to get cooler air and cooler grain mixed in. Sometimes a producer can find heated pockets before it becomes a big issue, said Miller.

“It’s really good to take out some loads, run that fan again, and try and get that temperature down and move that canola out as soon as possible,” she said.

This can be done throughout the winter.

“If you’re selling and moving some canola through the winter, maybe pull some different bins, just make sure you’re getting some samples from each bin, and keep things moving through the winter,” she said.

Miller said producers should be diligent in checking and taking samples from their bins, especially if they are planning to store their canola for long periods.

“The longer it’s stored, the higher the risk that there’s some issues,” she said.

Even canola that is in the bin for a couple months needs proper airflow. Green canola, green chaff, weed seeds and even insects like grasshoppers can bring up the moisture content inside the bin.

“It’s hard to know how much it’s actually providing, but it does slowly kick that moisture content up without us knowing,” she said.

Large bins are a challenge, because of air flow issues.

“There’s a lot of grain and you’re trying to force the air through,” said Miller. Having a small bin will make this a lot easier.

“The larger the bin, the harder it is to push that air right through. It can be a little harder to get a relative sample of a large bin versus a smaller bin,” she said.

Some farms use sensors inside their bins that monitor temperatures and alert them if there’s an issue. Even with the sensors, Miller said it’s a still a good idea to take sample and run fans.

The post Canola storage requires continued vigilance appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

To spread awareness and prevent such tragedies, the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association held its fourth annual BeGrainSafe Week Aug. 12-18. Events included an online seminar on grain entrapment hazards, risk and prevention.

Grain entrapment is a critical concern because it only takes a few seconds for people to be engulfed. Many do not survive, said CASA chief executive officer Andrea Lear in an Aug. 8 press release.

“With BeGrainSafe Week, our objective is to highlight the significance of grain safety and to raise awareness among more Canadians about the hazards associated with grain handling and storage.”

Twenty-seven people died from asphyxiation from grain or soil on Canadian farms between 2011 and 2020. These incidents are preventable, Lear said.

“This is why BeGrainSafe is dedicated to informing farmers, farm workers, farm families and farming communities about the importance of prioritizing grain safety to prevent these tragedies from happening.”

Why it matters: Grain safety knowledge is essential so producers can protect themselves and their workers.

Webinar paticipants included Dan Marsellus, BeGrainSafe master trainer and fire chief of Kneehill Country, Alta., Catherine Rylatt, co-founder and vice-president of the Grain Handling Safety Coalition in the United Sates, and Robin Anderson, director of programs and communications at CASA.

Marsellus said grain entrapment in Canada is dealt with in a reactionary rather than preventive way.

“We’re trying to get to the forefront and be precautionary or be ready for things,” he said.

Harvest season presents a stressful and time-pressured environment. That’s normal for farmers but it can also lead to accidents, Marsellus said.

“We start to focus on everything too close, and we don’t look at the big safety picture. So, if we take a step back and look at things bigger, that’s where it becomes important.”

When grain plugging occurs, farmers can be tempted to leave equipment running and enter a bin to unplug it. That can have disastrous results when the plug clears.

“Once that happens, then that grain flows very fast, and you’re going to get caught in it,” Rylatt said. Her 19-year-old nephew and his 14-year-old co-worker both died after being engulfed in grain.

Producers often deal with fatigue, dehydration and improper nutrition during harvest, all of which play a role in farm accidents, added Anderson.

“We’re not always maybe making the best decisions because we are in a rush. Maybe we haven’t had long enough sleep. We know that not having enough sleep is a huge detriment to safety …and to our mental health,” she said.

This can severely impair judgment, leading to risky behaviours such as neglecting safety protocols.

Marsellus said the riskiest behaviour seems to happen during grain movement, including movement of vehicles. Grain handling, particularly when dealing with large quantities, presents several critical hazards that aren’t always apparent.

“Moving grain can be deadly,” Marsellus said. “The stuff flows like sand. You get moving grain, it’s going to happen in a minute.”

Entrapment can occur with alarming speed and the response time of emergency services can be lengthy. Even with well-trained local fire departments, the situation can turn deadly within moments. Equipment should always be turned off and holes should always be guarded. Every employee must be accounted for, he said.

Farmers should have safety methods and contingency plans in place because many things can go wrong before the fire department arrives, Marsellus said. In his county, all fire departments rely on volunteers, and in an emergency, it can take 20 to 30 minutes for help to arrive.

“The reality of the situation is that it happens too fast, and it doesn’t take long to get too bad. Unfortunately, a lot of the time, by the time we get there, its body recovery,” he said. “The more safety that can be done at the farm, that’s even better for us to get there and make it an easy rescue instead of a recovery.”

Crush pressure is a critical factor in entrapment cases. As a person becomes more deeply buried in grain, the pressure exerted on their body increases dramatically. It is nearly impossible to free them without proper equipment and training. Firefighters are trained to stop grain flow immediately, even though it may seem counter intuitive.

Most grain entrapments end with the person getting out on their own or with help from co-workers, so rescue services aren’t called. Then people brush off the events and fail to think about prevention, said Rylatt. Not talking about it can be dangerous.

“We can talk about it more and be more aware of it and work together more because … when you’re working on a farm, a lot of times you are working alone. You don’t think to ask somebody for help.”

She also noted the hazards associated with moving large equipment, like trucks and combines, have historically been a significant concern and there appears to be a growing awareness and fewer accidents in recent years.

This progress suggests that safety measures and mutual understanding are effective, but it’s crucial to remain vigilant because these hazards are not entirely eliminated, Rylatt added.

During the online seminar, she recalled a situation where a new grain handling system lacked essential safety features, such as railings on catwalks 60 to 70 feet above ground.

“It was only when they started building it that we asked about the tie-off points and the railings,” she said. “When you get up that high … you gotta have a railing.”

It’s not uncommon for safety elements to be considered optional or overlooked during the ordering process. Making them a priority can prevent accidents and save lives, Rylatt said.

Ongoing training and awareness are vital to prevent accidents related to grain handling. Many farmers who also serve as volunteer firefighters are trained to recognize the dangers and respond effectively.

The landscape of grain handling safety is evolving, and some newer grain systems include built-in safety features like covered holes and no-entry designs that can prevent accidents.

Ensuring that stored grain is in the best possible condition can also reduce the need for workers to enter bins, further mitigating risks, Rylatt said.

“The safest grain bin is one you don’t have to enter at all.”

CASA’s BeGrainSafe program was launched in 2017 in response to a rise in grain entrapment fatalities. The program offers education on prevention, rescue training and on-site workplace training to increase awareness of grain-related dangers and save lives.

The post Grain entrapment safety non-negotiable, experts say appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

For Paul Brisebois, getting the crop safely off the field and into the bin boils down to two words: capacity and efficiency.

“What we’ve seen through consolidation of farms is a continued trend to larger grain storage and handling on-farm; mostly flat-bottomed,” he said. “Traditionally, in Western Canada, they need hopper bottom bins and the reason for that is the variety of crop that we have.”

Brisebois, senior vice president for Canada for grain storage manufacturer AGI, was at Ag in Motion west of Langham, Sask. on July 16. He explained that as farms have increased in size, their storage requirements now mean far greater quantities of a single crop, whether it be canola or wheat. This means higher capacity, flat-bottomed bins. These are often centrally located, with larger capacity handling equipment and sometimes permanently installed handling equipment.

Another on-farm trend is on the conditioning side, whether it is blending tough and too-dry grain to get an optimal moisture level, aeration systems, or simply high-capacity grain drying so harvest can continue even if Mother Nature is not particularly co-operative.

“We’ve seen the trend to more producers getting NECO dryers, mixed-flow dryers in the market just cause it enables them to smooth out harvest. If it’s coming in late, if it’s coming in at different times, you can condition it properly.”

—Watch for more coverage of grain handling and storage trends and innovations from Ag in Motion in upcoming issues of Grainews, the Western Producer, and other Glacier FarmMedia publications.

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Anne Kirk, cereal crop specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, advises aeration and vigilant monitoring of bin moisture and temperature. The latter is particularly important when outside temperatures fluctuate.

“We have definitely heard of some issues with canola having some heating in the bin and some higher moisture zones,” Kirk said. “That’s something that farmers definitely need to be on the lookout for.”

Why it matters: Abnormal winter temperatures lead to abnormal conditions for grain storage.

Alberta is also experiencing higher spoilage risk, wrote Neil Blue, provincial government crops market analyst, in a recent news release.

“Several cases of spoiling crops have showed up lately, leading to marketing difficulty and large price discounts,” he said.

In contrast, Kim Stonehouse, crops extension specialist with the Saskatchewan agriculture ministry, reports that storage conditions have been “fairly normal” in her province this year.

The science of spoilage

Spoilage in bins is usually caused by moisture migration.

“In the fall and winter, grain in the bin cools because it’s colder on the edges,” Kirk said. That cool air on the periphery of the grain then starts to settle.

“As it moves towards the floor of the bin and into the centre, (the air) becomes warmer because the grain on the inside of the bin is warmer, and then that warmer air becomes lighter.”

That warm air then reverses, rising in the centre of the bin before cooling again when it reaches cold grain near the surface.

“What results is an increase in moisture content near the surface, which can cause rapid grain spoilage.”

Grain and oilseeds will respire for a month or more after storage, noted Blue.

“This respiration can release moisture, which in turn can lead to spoilage. Dense crops like canola are particularly subject to storage problems, although all crops with moisture can spoil.”

Producers’ best bet is to aerate binned crops during the respiration period.

Deep winter seesaw

The basic moisture migration process and its management are the same even when it’s -40 C, said Blue, but the cold snap may have caused more migration.

“The colder January temperatures would further cool the outside portions of the stored crop, possibly leading to more moisture migration from the bottom-middle up towards the top, where that moisture would meet cold crop, possibly causing condensation there.”

Kirk also noted any sudden shift from springlike temperatures to bone-chilling cold should warrant a bin check.

“Do you have a high moisture zone? Is your grain kind of crusty on top, which indicates higher moisture? What temperatures are you going to add?”

Cycling grain or canola can equalize temperatures in the bin, she said.

“Especially for something like canola, take a load or part of a load out of a variety of canola bins to justcheck it and then cycle it through so you are mixing it up a bit and not creating those really high moisture results in the bin.”

Blue also recommended turning the crop by removing some from each bin, letting it sit on a truck for a day or two and then returning it to the bin. It’s better to do this during cold weather, but spring may require another bin turning.

“If continued safe storage is questionable, it may be advisable to turn the grain again in the spring as the stored grain warms, or use the fan if the bin is equipped,” said Blue, adding that consistent monitoring is key.

“Many producers use in-bin monitoring systems to detect potential storage trouble. While lower than last crop year’s prices, crop prices are still historically high and worth protecting in storage.”

Monitoring can be also be done with a grain probe, said Kirk, although she cautioned producers to be thorough.

“We like to recommend probing all sides and the centre of the bin,” she said.

Stonehouse agreed that monitoring grain temperatures and quickly addressing any issues is always a good practice. Even grain that is not at a safe storage moisture content can have a long shelf-life as long as temperatures stay below 5 C, she noted. Beyond that, problems occur.

“If there is spoilage happening, it is possible that the grain did not cool to below zero degrees Celsius after harvest due to the unusually warm weather we had,” she said.

Moisture targets

Although 10 per cent moisture (the dry moisture standard for canola) is usually sufficient for marketing, its actual moisture in the bin should be lower, said Blue.

“Safe, longer-term storage moisture levels are below eight per cent. If it is binned at high temperatures, canola can even spoil at six per cent moisture,” he noted.

The Canadian Grain Commission outlines moisture standards for many grains. Buyer expectations also play a role.

“Certain markets or contracts may have different moisture level specifications than (the commission’s). For example, feed barley sold to a domestic feed user is commonly considered to be dry at 15 per cent moisture or less,” said Blue.

Kirk also recommended using CGC resources.

“They have a lot of graphs on their website where you can plot out your initial moisture content of your grain and the temperature of the grain going in the bin.”

The post Avoiding grain spoilage when temperatures get wild appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

He is not alone.

Farmers across the United States are kicking themselves for putting off corn sales after fields dried up in May and June, fueling expectations for higher prices and smaller harvests. Instead, prices tanked as rains saved the crop. The size and speed of the price collapse stung farmers and left their storage bins stuffed with record amounts of corn.

The steepest market downturn in a decade in 2023 has extended into 2024, hurting the U.S. rural economy. Two years of high prices and tight crop supplies spurred by unfavorable global weather and disruption from the Ukraine war have been quickly reversed.

Record-large harvests in the United States and Brazil, increased competition for U.S. grain exports, and limited domestic demand led to hefty amounts of corn locked away in storage, pushing U.S. corn prices to their lowest level since November 2020 on Wednesday.

Corn is the world’s most traded commodity crop and often sets the tone for other crops. Soybeans, too, plummeted to their lowest prices in more than three years in February.

Ten farmers, economists and market analysts said U.S. growers miscalculated when they held on to corn rather than booking sales. The “store and ignore” strategy of waiting for higher prices has not paid off, leaving some farmers cutting back purchases of pricey equipment and planting less corn. The interviews also demonstrate the tricky decisions farmers face when determining when to sell in the face of potential crop losses.

Corn futures prices Cv1 that approached $6.30 a bushel in June have since tumbled to $4.10, after U.S. farmers ultimately produced record crop yields.

“I wish I sold a lot more,” Henebry said.

U.S. growers held a whopping 7.83 billion bushels of corn in storage bins on their farms as of Dec. 1, the most ever for that date and up 16 per cent from a nine-year low in December 2022, U.S. government data show. Globally, leftover inventories are projected to reach a five-year high by September after accounting for all the corn used to feed livestock, make biofuels and other purposes.

Henebry said he still has about 40 per cent of his 2023 harvest in storage, including 30,000 bushels on his farm in central Illinois. He is paying 3 to 4 cents per bushel a month to keep another 30,000 bushels at a local grain elevator. In a normal year, he would not have any still stored there, he said.

Before prices plunged last summer, Henebry said he sold some corn for $5.50 to $5.70 per bushel and then for as much as $6.21 per bushel delivered to the grain elevator. He held off on further sales because he was counting on poor weather to reduce production and boost prices.

Prices tumbled, though, and Henebry said he sold corn in December for $4.60 per bushel. He wishes he would have unloaded even more at that price.

Prices will come under renewed pressure as farmers do sell the grain they have in storage, analysts said.

“Any sort of little rally, there’s going to be a lot of corn sold,” said Henebry.

‘I’ll just give up’

Fred Huddlestun, a farmer in Yale, Illinois, said he still had his entire 2023 corn harvest in storage last month: about 39,000 bushels at an elevator and 25,000 bushels at home. Prices never reached targets he set to make sales last year, even as he lowered them.

Huddlestun could have earned roughly $360,000 if he had struck deals to sell 64,000 bushels just after Easter; $382,000 around Father’s Day in June; and $307,000 on Halloween, based on Chicago Board of Trade corn futures that represented last autumn’s crop. At current prices, his grain is worth about $263,000. Futures and cash prices often differ by a few cents.

“I kept thinking the market would go up,” Huddlestun said. “I’ll just give up eventually and start selling if nothing happens.”

Huddlestun said he should have sold around $5.50 a bushel. Though all operations are different, breakeven prices for corn growers in central Illinois were about $5.27 a bushel in 2023, including costs for land and other expenses, according to University of Illinois estimates.

Farmers have the space to squirrel away crops after increasing their storage capacity by 24 per cent over the last two decades to 13.6 billion bushels. Storing grain gives farmers more control over when and how they sell, to avoid prices that are typically low at harvest time and to best take advantage of spikes in futures. At grain elevators and other commercial handlers, off-farm storage capacity has increased by 40 per cent to 11.9 billion bushels over the past 20 years, according to U.S. government data.

High interest rates make storage more costly because farmers’ crops are tied up in bins rather than sold to reduce debt, economists said.

In southern Illinois, the second biggest corn-producing state, farmers could actually lose up to $160 an acre growing corn this year, based on corn prices and the cost of production, University of Illinois economists said in a January report. Two years ago, profits reached about $340 an acre.

Such expected losses are rippling through rural America. Net farm income in 2024 is projected to suffer the largest year-to-year dollar decrease in history, the American Farm Bureau Federation, an industry group, said in a report this month.

Deere & Co, the world’s largest farm equipment maker, expects sales of large agricultural equipment to decline 20 per cent this year, due to lower commodity prices and high interest rates.

‘Plenty of corn’

In Wamego, Kansas, Glenn Brunkow, a fifth-generation crop and livestock farmer, plans to delay upgrades to machinery and may try to repair equipment himself, rather than paying a dealership.

“We’re tightening expenses as much as we can,” he said. “We’re trying to limp through putting off some expansion with the livestock, just trying to limp by.”

Early forecasts show U.S. farmers are likely to cut back on corn planting and favor soybeans in 2024. They may struggle to turn a profit with either crop.

Brunkow said he plans to forgo corn planting entirely and grow some sorghum, which requires less fertilizer and has less expensive seeds than corn. Sorghum can be used to make ethanol, feed livestock or be exported to China to make baiju liquor.

Years ago, Brunkow gave up on growing sorghum because it produces lower yields and is difficult to dry at harvest time.

Now, “the economics just are better,” he said. “You’re going to lose less money.”

Analysts do not expect a major bump in demand to draw down corn stockpiles. U.S. exports of agricultural and related products fell 10 per cent by value in 2023 to a three-year low, as plentiful supplies from Brazil and elsewhere challenged U.S. export sales.

Demand from the U.S. meat industry, which feeds corn to livestock, is limited as pig farmers face lackluster pork demand while cattle ranchers slashed their herds due to drought in the Great Plains.

Biofuel demand, which typically accounts for about one-third of U.S. corn production, also worries Rod Weinzierl, executive director of the Illinois Corn Growers Association, as Americans buy more electric vehicles.

“This year every fork in the road has been bearish,” said Matt Wiegand, commodity broker for risk management firm FuturesOne in Nebraska.

—Additional reporting for Reuters by Julie Ingwersen in Chicago.

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Ukraine’s agriculture was hit very hard by the war. Most of the country’s farmers were on the verge of impoverishment and were forced to learn how to survive. From these farmers you may learn which lessons are better to learn in peacetime, to better be ready for possible shocks.

Farmers usually follow recommendations when planting and growing crops or raising livestock. A farmer knows that for best results, he should apply a certain amount of fertilizer and spray the plants with the necessary pesticides to protect them. Careful cultivation and preparation of the field are also necessary.

But in the past two years, Ukrainian farmers were forced to learn to grow grain with minimal budgets. If they used to apply 600 kilograms of fertilizer to a hectare of land, today they grow a crop using 150 or 200 kg.

This forces them to look for other ways to nourish their crops. It also changes how closely they sow seeds and the spacing between rows. In many cases it has promoted wider use of inexpensive biostimulants, though it’s not proven they will help.

As I have observed farmers throughout the war, I have seen that the best results come from farmers who actively experimented before the war, and sought to reduce their cost of production even in peacetime.

While storing grain on the farm may be commonplace in Canada, it’s more limited in Ukraine. If a farmer doesn’t have a place to store the grain they grow, this can become a serious problem during wartime.

Overloaded regional elevators may refuse to accept crop for drying and storage. Grain can spoil. Due to the instantaneous increase in energy prices, the cost of grain elevator services may increase several-fold and it will be unprofitable for the farmer to use.

Therefore, it is better to have their own storage, even if it is primitive. This will give the farmer time to make the best decision.

During the war it is almost impossible to sell grain at a normal price, while the cost of fuel, animal feed and various food products is high. Many Ukrainian farmers began to process their produce and sell finished products to earn additional money. Farmers’ interest in animal husbandry has also increased. But it is clear it was better to start doing all this long before the war, in order to have the opportunity to perfect production processes.

In times of war, banks and supply companies have limited resources and lend money and resources only to guaranteed reliable customers. If a farmer has such a reputation, they have a better chance of finding financial support to grow a crop.

Ukrainians have a good saying: “Friends are known in trouble.” A farmer must have many friends and good acquaintances, including other farmers, managers of supply companies and neighbours. In times of war and other disasters, this makes it possible to get quick support and coordinate efforts to overcome a problem.

For example, overcoming the consequences of rocket fire or clearing snow after a heavy snowfall.

It is worthwhile to create regional farmers’ clubs and communicate regularly to know everyone personally. A farmer will not survive apart from other people.

Before the war in Ukraine, some financially secure farmers believed it was not necessary to own their own seeders, high clearance sprayers or combines.

They thought this machinery could be easily rented and the farm wouldn’t have to own and maintain it.

Today,  agricultural companies that have their own agricultural machinery have the greatest chance of survival. It is more profitable, because the operating costs are lower than renting.
When there is a war in the country, all industries suffer, especially the provision of services. A farmer may simply not find a sprayer or combine in time.

So, if they have such an opportunity, they should buy their own agricultural machinery. It is also very useful to have their own excavators and trucks – especially trucks – because one of the biggest problems in wartime is logistics.

A farmer should try to buy fuel, fertilizers and pesticides for the next season as soon as they can afford it. This is what saved many farmers I know, when there was nothing to buy in the first months of the full-scale war.

Over time, the market normalized, but before that it was necessary to survive during four or five months of acute shortage of fuel, pesticides and spare parts, all during the spring sowing season.
No farmer should completely rely on third-party companies. If they have reliable and qualified employees, they should try to keep them at work.

In times of upheaval, it is better to have people around who know how to repair agricultural machinery and have a good knowledge of agronomy. A farm should have a few people it can rely on who are professional in their field.

Always keep in mind the possibility that electricity and natural gas may be out for extended periods of time. It is very good to have solar panels and wind generators and definitely diesel generators. Their power should be enough for basic life needs and to ensure the minimum functioning of a livestock farm.

It is very good if a farm can heat its buildings with firewood. This is an excellent backup option.

One of the biggest problems during the war is sudden disappearance of mobile communications and the internet due to missile attacks. A farmer can instantly lose touch with other people and won’t know what’s happening in the country or on the next street.

Therefore, farm workers must have wireless walkie-talkies and equipment that allows them to connect to the internet in the absence of electricity. Some farmers found that their traditional land lines worked best in these conditions.

A farmer who hopes to survive should not be paralyzed by fear, and should be ready to take control of their own destiny.

In times of wars and natural disasters, state bodies cannot save everything and help everyone at once. It makes no sense to sit back and wait for someone to come and solve problems.

Under such conditions, each farm turns into an island of stability for the surrounding residents. Farmers immediately take the initiative into their own hands. They provide people with food and organize people’s self-defence to maintain order. They solve infrastructure problems and organize support for the army. 

This makes it possible to prevent social upheaval, because all people receive the necessary means of living and see that law and order has not disappeared.

These are hard lessons, learned over the past two years, and I hope Canadian farmers never have to learn them first-hand.

—Ihor Pavliuk is a farm journalist based in Ukraine who has filed regular contributions to Glacier FarmMedia publications over the course of the war. 

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There were bins 19 feet in diameter, with a 2,700 bu. capacity, but few farmers bought them because they were hard to shovel out and sweep augers weren’t widely available.

Why it matters: Bigger bins mean more grain can be stored, which requires greater attention to management.

These days, the numbers are a lot bigger. The most common flat-bottom bins today are 36 and 42 feet in diameter and store 25,000 to 40,000 bu., says Derek Johnson of bin maker AGI.

“Over the last 10 or 20 years, the size of bins has grown dramatically, just based on sheer production. We know genetics have improved, farming practices have improved and with that comes an increase in production.”

That brought a push for larger bins, more sophisticated grain-handling solutions and high-tech monitoring equipment.

“Growers are looking for a system that’s fairly easy to run and fairly easy to maintain,” Johnson says. “That comes down to the monitoring systems that they’re putting into their bin, being able to see the condition of their grain on their phone, being able to control their fans — being able to turn them on when they see there’s potentially a hot spot in the bin and condition that grain down and keep it cool.”

Putting that much cereal grain, pulse or oilseed in one place for an extended time comes with a challenge to keep that product safe and in condition.

Just the effect of that grain’s weight pressing down is significant. A 19-foot bin from the 1970s could hold roughly 162,000 pounds of wheat, assuming a bushel weight of 60 lb. The biggest bins of today hold 2.4 million lb., nearly 15 times as much.

That packs grain tightly into the bottom of the bin and increases static pressure (resistance to airflow), making temperature and moisture control more difficult. Those challenges are offset by lower cost per bushel and less hassle switching from bin to bin during harvest and grain shipping.

Grain price trends over the years makes the math better, too. Farmers can typically get the best price several months after harvest.

“That’s when those grain companies are looking for product,” Johnson says. “To capture those premiums in the marketplace, you have to have safe storage.”

While grain bags have recently grown in popularity, they’re better suited to short-term storage to ease harvest logistics. Grain can be stored in them for longer periods, but not as reliably and with considerable risk and management requirements.

One grain storage specialist says managing a bin isn’t complex, but farmers need a clear picture of what’s happening inside.

Wayne Clews of Clews Management says many farmers guess the condition of the crop in the bin and run fans as a safeguard. However, that can work counter to their best interests.

Rather than incrementally reducing the temperature of grain as the air temperature co-operates, an up-and-down tug of war ensues. A cool night cools the grain and warmer days bring the temperature back up.

“You can actually be hurting yourself,” Clews said during Saskatchewan’s Ag in Motion outdoor farm show this summer. “You’re better off if you know what’s happening in the bin. That’s where it starts.”

Clews said recent advances have made it easier to monitor temperature and manage fan operation.

“I sold my first cable [to monitor bin temperature] in 1969,” he said. “Back then, you had to drive into the bin yard, maybe move a little snow, and plug into the cable. These days you can take a cup of coffee into your office in the morning, get on the computer and in a few minutes know what’s happening in your bins.”

That doesn’t necessarily mean bin monitoring is universal. It’s pretty much standard equipment on new large-capacity bins, but there are still a lot of older, smaller bins with no sensors.

In the end, it comes down to three factors, Clews said: the moisture of the grain; the temperature of the grain; and how long the farmer wants or needs to store it. That equation can change based on variables like commodity prices.

“When canola falls from $20-something to down into the teens… there’ll soon be some out there that’s over 365 days [in storage],” Clews said. “That’s a whole new challenge. What was safe for 200 days may not turn out to be all that safe for 300 days.”

That’s when close monitoring of a bin can pay off.

While a physical sensor in the bin itself is the gold standard, there are other approaches to manage grain storage that rely on data, not cables.

OPI has been a leader in grain storage technology for decades. It’s taking a new approach that provides some free hardware, offers a user-pay model for some services and a service that uses virtual weather data to alert farmers on the optimum time to run their fans, says the firm’s founder and owner, Dave Crompton.

“We’re trying to knock down some of those barriers to entry and get people into the tent and talking and thinking about grain storage differently.”

Crompton says the hardware-based approach is always going to be the gold standard but OPI aims to give producers smaller, easier steps to get there.

“We feel that’s a better approach than asking people to make this major paradigm shift from the way they’ve always done things — or even the way their parents and grandparents always did things — all at once.”

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In summer, Moscow quit a U.N.-brokered deal that had allowed exports of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea safely. Since then, Russian forces have hit six civilian ships and 150 port and grain facilities during 17 attacks, destroying crops headed for export, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said in a statement.

“This is Russia’s attempt to deepen the food crisis in the countries which depend on Ukrainian products,” Kubrakov said.

The damage on Ukrainian ports reduced the country’s grain export potential by 40 per cent, he said. Russia has attacked port facilities on both the Black Sea and Danube River.

Ukraine is one of the world’s largest wheat and corn exporters.

The Russian defence ministry could not be immediately reached for comment.

Kubrakov said 21 grain-loaded vessels have already used a new “humanitarian” grain corridor in the Black Sea that Kyiv established in August.

He said that under the previous U.N. Black Sea Grain Initiative, Ukraine had exported 33 million tonnes of grain, with 60 per cent of that shipped to African and Asian countries.

— Reporting for Reuters by Olena Harmash.

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