CWB Supports Farmer Control of Government Hoppercars

WINNIPEG - Dec 2/04 - SNS -- The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) is putting its support behind proposals by the Farmer Rail Car Coalition to acquire and manage the federal government's fleet of almost 13,000 hopper cars dedicated to grain movement within Western Canada.

"An efficient, accessible, low-cost transportation system is essential to a viable farming economy in Western Canada," said Ian McCreary, Chair of the CWB's Farmer Relations Committee and a farmer-elected director from Bladworth, Sask., in a presentation to the House of Commons' Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. "We believe that any changes to the system should have the farmers' best interests in mind.

"In our view, the only option for divestment of the government hopper car fleet that is consistent with lower costs and greater value to farmers is the proposal presented by the FRCC," McCreary said. "Other divestment options presented or discussed would significantly increase farmers' costs with no commensurate benefit. In essence, farmers would be paying for an asset owned by another entity."

McCreary noted each year between 18 and 22 million metric tons (MT) of grain move from the Prairie region to customers across Canada, North America and around the world. However, the Prairies are located a substantial distance from port position, making transportation costs the single-largest component in the cost of marketing grain.

"For wheat alone this year, I will pay some $20,000 in rail costs to get my grain to shipping position at an export port," McCreary noted. The CWB supports the FRCC proposal, he said, because the coalition plans to maintain and replace the hopper cars without increasing costs to farmers.

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