CP Rail dispute with workers' union threatens Sask. farmers' crop future

A contract dispute between Canada Pacific Railwayand theunion representing its workers is putting farmers' crops in the crosshairs when they're already struggling with poor returns from 2021.

Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway shut down operations Sunday with both the company and the union accusing the other of stepping away from the bargaining table. The result is a screeching halt to the supply chain that will restrict farmers from bringing in products or sending them out.

"As we go into our busy season, and the season where we spend all of our money to put the crop in the ground, we need to get our shipments of grain out," said Ian Boxall, a crop farmer and Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan president.

Boxall farms mixed grains, pulses and oilseed on a 4,000-acre farm near the rural municipality of Connaught.

He said the supply chain restriction is just another hurdle facing farmers who are already suffering financial and supply losses from the terrible drought in 2021 and a reduction in feed stocks.

"It's going to have a great effect on all Canadians as we're so reliant on the railroads to bring freight in as well as to export goods that we produce here," he said.

"My fear in all of this is as we continue to have these rail issues and these supply chain issues, that our buyers of our products are going to look at us as an unreliable source of those commodities."

The CP Rail shutdown is a source of stress for Lesley Kelly, a grain farmer from Watrous, Sask., as she enters the seeding season while also sending out grains.

Kelly said she expected supply chain issues and was able to bring in fertilizer, but isn't certain she'll be able to get seed and chemicals to her farm in time.

"With farming there's so many things outside of our control, like weather and these issues, so there are a lot of pressures going into another crop year with drought," she said.

"It's nice to see that we do have increased amounts of moisture but if we don't get rain and we're not able to get products that help us put a crop in, then our family farm could be in jeopardy."

Seeding season approaching

Fertilizer is front of mind for many farmers. Boxall said seeding will begin in the northeast by May 1 andpotentially earlier in the south, but he thinks if the dispute lasts beyond two weeks "we're going to be in trouble getting product into Canada."

While Boxall said he has his fertilizer in place, some farmers who may have been holding out may struggle to meet their needs.

About 75 per cent of all fertilizer in Canada is moved by rail, according to Fertilizer Canada.

When asked what other products behind agricultural items would be affected by the dispute, CP Rail said, "A work stoppage of any duration at CP will impact virtually all commodities within the Canadian supply chain, thereby crippling the performance of Canada's trade-dependent economy."

Glenn Wright isn't as concerned about his farm as other producers with similar farms.

He uses more sustainable practices on his 800-acre grain farm positioned between Vanscoy and Delisle, Sask., southwest of Saskatoon. He also ran as a political candidate for the Green Party, NDP and an independent candidate but has since left politics.

His farm relies less on fertilizer, cutting it in half, and most of his grain has been shipped off already.

Wright said there areways for people to rely less on fertilizer, but they take time. He suggested inter-cropping by farmers, but followed it by saying crop insurance policies aren't well-suited for the technique.

He said he sympathizes with farmers who don't have their inputs ready or have feed ready, but encouraged sustainable farming. Wright said yields may not be as high early on, but thinks it can reduce the financial risk of inputs while being environmentally friendly.

Luckily, Wright already has most of his inputs and fertilizer, but is still looking for herbicides and phosphorus fertilizer.

"The show must go on as they say," he said. "In some cases we might be doing without."

Contract table confusion

During question period at the Regina Legislature Monday, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe echoed his own hopes for the parties to reach an agreement.

But he also asked Ottawa to have back-to-work legislation prepared in case it was needed and it should consider declassifying rail service as an essential service.

"We just simply can't have an interruption of service here in Saskatchewan," he said. Moe is also concerned that a prolonged dispute could damage the province's reputation to those who expect exported resources from Canada.

On Saturday, the rail workers' union, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, said it wanted to continue bargaining but CP Rail forced a lockout despite the union's "best efforts."

On Sunday, CP Rail called that a misrepresentation and said it was Teamsters' negotiation team that was forcing a strike.

Regardless, Barry Prentice, a supply chain expert from the University of Manitoba, doesn't think the dispute will drag on much longer than a week before the government passes legislation putting workers back to work or negotiators back to the table.

He believes some industries will feel it before then and others will be more fortunate, but if it lasts beyond a week it could become a "really big issue" and could significantly congest the system.

Farmers are likely to be the most affected by the supply chain halt with feed and fertilizer imports and exporting grains put on hold which exacerbates already high grain prices.

"This is sort of the peak movement for fertilizers because it needs to be in place for farmers to be able to apply it to their fields," Prentice said. "If this happened in September, it wouldn't matter to fertilizer guys much."

He said the mining, energy and forestry industries could also feel the effects of the supply chain issues.