CN Says Grain Moving Smoothly Despite COVID-19

Mar 26, 2020

A spokesman for CN rail says grain movement is running smoothly this month, despite some major disruptions this winter.

The railway was affected by a week-long strike in November and illegal blockades in February. But the director of bulk sales, Scott Shurvell says rail traffic is consistent.

Shurvel says cross border rail shipments are not affected by a recent shutdown of non-essential border travel.

He says efforts are underway to segregate staff and increase cleaning to avoid COVID-19.

Potash shipments are big right now, especially next door in Saskatchewan.

He says Nutrien and Mosaic operate 9 potash mines and are the main rail shippers to the US farm market. Shurvell says CN is well prepared to meet the challenges of providing product to market during the pandemic.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.