Grain farmers want action on railway bottleneck as planting season approaches
OTTAWA — A severe shortage of rail cars has left millions of tonnes of in-demand grain trapped across Western Canada and farmers warn that billions of dollars in economic activity could be lost unless the government acts soon.
Representatives of the agriculture industry were in Ottawa on Thursday pressuring legislators to provide relief to grain farmers unable to access the money they need for the coming growing season. A lack of rail capacity means producers can’t transport last year’s crop to market to pay off that season’s input loans, they say.
Planting season is around the corner and last year’s loans are coming due, said Ron Bonnett, head of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, adding that government inaction could mean serious hardship for farming families across the prairies.
“We need action,” Bonnett said. “We’re going to have farmers who are struggling to pay their bills and families that are suffering because of inaction by government and by the railroads.”