Editorial: Follow the dollars

Most financial professionals will tell you to keep one hand on your wallet when someone doesn’t want you to look at the books. From non-profit community groups to major corporations, the numbers don’t lie. If funds have been misallocated or things aren’t quite on the level, it can’t truly be hidden. No matter how hard

Open the books

There’s no reason not to have a final audit of the CWB now the organization no longer exists

The following is a lightly edited letter of response sent from the National Farmers Union to Michael Ferguson, Canada’s auditor general. We would like to clarify that the National Farmers Union is not asking for an audit of G3; our request is for an audit of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) as it prepared for


Opinion: The Great Canadian Grain Robbery

If you can’t identify the problem then you can’t provide a solution

Allan Dawson, in the April 12 edition (Putting a price tag on the grain backlog), continues to defend a false narrative of ‘blame the railways.’ The information provided by Ken Larsen in his National Farmer’s Union op-ed on March 22 was confirmed by a highly respected journalist for the Western Producer, Brian Cross, who noted

Opinion: Price no reliable indicator

Without independent audits there’s no way to tell what grain sells for


Allan Dawson’s response to my article about grain movement (Putting a price tag on the grain backlog, Manitoba Co-operator, April 12) was provocative. In it he contends the price and basis doesn’t reflect the issue and trucking prevents farmers from being captive sellers. While I agree that price is important, and with Prof. Richard Gray’s


Opinion: Putting a price tag on the grain backlog

Opinion: Putting a price tag on the grain backlog

There’s demurrage and contract defaults, but the biggest cost is to Canada’s reputation

We’ll never know exactly how much this year’s grain backlog cost Western Canada’s grain industry, including farmers, but it will be in the millions of dollars. A bigger backlog in 2013-14 cost members of the Western Grain Elevator Association — Canada’s major grain companies — $90 million just in demurrage, contract extensions and defaults. That

Proposed changes to rail shipping legislation could be deregulation by stealth, the NFU worries.

NFU worried C-49 will help railways, hurt farmers

Terry Boehm believes the new legislation gives the railways too much wiggle room on grain service

The National Farmers Union (NFU) fears Bill C-49, the Transportation Modernization Act, will further deregulate the railways, resulting in poorer service for western Canadian grain farmers, not better. The opposite view is held by most farm groups, grain companies and even the railways, all of whom want the legislation to revise the Canada Transportation Act


Producer car loading at Darlingford, Man. Canadian Grain Commission statistics show producer car numbers 
have been declining. The National Farmers Union wants changes to protect and enhance producer cars.

NFU has plan to bolster producer cars

Producer cars are in decline and according to the National Farmers Union it is by design

What good is a statutory right to a producer car that can’t be loaded or unloaded? That’s the question former National Farmers Union (NFU) president Terry Boehm wants answered. It’s also why the NFU wants C-49, the Transportation Modernization Act, amended to protect and enhance farmers’ access to producer cars — rail cars farmers load

U.K. promises post-Brexit agriculture plan

Farmers are demanding more clarity, frictionless trade with EU

The British government will publish a consultation paper on future agriculture policy “very shortly,” Environment Minister Michael Gove said Feb. 20, as farmers demanded more clarity on their prospect after the country quits the European Union. “Our consultation paper will outline how we plan to change things more broadly. The paper will outline a clear


Calls grow for passage of transport bill to amend and quickly pass Transportation Modernization bill

As grain movement grinds slower shippers are calling for action on the transport file

Calls for quick passage of C-49, the Transportation Modernization Act are increasing, as are requests for interim relief for farmers who can’t move grain because of poor rail service. And several groups want C-49 amended so a similar backlog doesn’t happen again. The Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission (Sask Wheat), the Saskatchewan Barley Development Commission and the Agricultural Producers Association

grain rail cars

Opinion: Flawed Bill C-49 won’t aid farmers

The Senate is now studying Bill C-49, a bill to amend Canada’s Transportation Act and other related acts, which the House of Commons passed in November. The National Farmers Union (NFU) is one of many groups urging the Senate’s Transportation and Communications Committee to amend the bill before it goes back to the Senate for