The Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA) is encouraged by the government’s continued action to bring more transparency to the grain supply chain following Monday’s announcement by the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transportation and the Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.
In the announcement, the government noted that more grain monitoring statistics are now publically available. A summary of the grain volume shipped by rail from August 2014 to January 2015 is on the Grain Monitor’s website at www.grainmonitor.ca and new weekly and monthly reports will be forthcoming. In addition, mandatory minimum volume requirements continue to be an option as the data is evaluated on an ongoing basis.
“Availability of public grain supply chain data has been long-identified as an area that required improvement and we are pleased the government has taken this step to put more information in the hands of farmers,” says Brett Halstead, President of CCGA.
The upcoming weekly and monthly reports will now include data on the corridor traffic and other important shipment measures. This will work to address the critical ongoing data gaps identified by stakeholders, including the Ag Transport Coalition, of which CCGA is a member.
The Ag Transport Coalition will continue to provide an additional source of important weekly information, from a Western Canadian grain shipper’s perspective. Reports are available on Tuesdays at www.agtransportcoalition.com.
CCGA will continue to monitor all available data on rail service performance and advocate for solutions to the chronic service issues that directly impact the profitability of canola farmers.
Source: Canadian Canola Growers