national farmers union

WASKATENEAU, Alta.-In a letter to Minister of Transportation David Collenette and Minister of Agriculture Lyle Vanclief, the NFU outlined a seven-point transportation agenda designed to meet the needs of cash-strapped farmers and hard-pressed rural communities.

The letter, signed by NFU President Cory Ollikka, advises Vanclief and Collenette: "Transportation is the largest single cost for most western farmers. Freight rates have increased 700% over the last decade and a half. Making the wrong choices in redesigning the western grain handling and transportation system - when many farmers are close to bankruptcy - will have disastrous results for farmers, rural communities, and the western economy. It is critical that the transportation reform process focuses on farmers' needs."

The letter stated that farmers need:

1. Freight rates which are as low and equitable as possible. This requires a cost-based, distance-based, capped-rate system. Further, the rate cap must include regular costing reviews and a formula to share productivity gains with farmers. The lack of productivity gain sharing is currently costing the average farmer $5,000 annually.
   
   
2. A strong and effective CWB presence in the transportation system to give farmers a voice in the system and to maximize the CWB's marketing returns. The CWB's recent victory in its CTA case against CN and CP put millions of dollars in farmers' pockets and provides just one more example of the CWB's valuable farmer-advocacy role. Stripping the CWB of its transportation function will also reduce its effectiveness as a marketer and, thus, reduce farmers' returns. The loss of its transportation role will also make it difficult or impossible for the CWB to draw grain equitably from all farmers or to continue to offer price pooling.
   
   
3. A transportation and handling system reform process which takes into account all costs including: increased trucking costs, road damage, and climate change resulting from increased C0₂ emissions. There is a profound difference between lowering overall system costs and lowering grain company and railway costs by forcing those costs onto farmers.
   
   
4. Ownership of the government hopper cars. No matter who buys the cars and no matter what the price, farmers will pay for them through higher freight costs. If farmers are going to pay for the cars, they should own them.
   
   
5. System-wide performance monitoring backed by centrally-administered rewards and penalties. To improve system efficiency and prevent system failures, we need to measure the performance of the railways, grain companies, and other system participants. Once we know how everyone is performing and where the bottlenecks are, we can use rewards and penalties to move the system toward higher performance and lower costs.
   
   
6. A Prairie Rail Authority to oversee branchline abandonment or retention and to foster the creation of shortlines. Branchline abandonment and elevator closure is currently proceeding in an uncoordinated fashion and at a reckless pace. Such abandonment and closure increases road costs and destroys vital prairie infrastructure.
   
   
7. Cost-effective utilization of all infrastructure including the ports of Churchill and Prince Rupert.

The letter concluded: "Farmers need what everyone in the economy needs: the ability to control and minimize costs, reliable service, some market power in the system, and appropriate returns on equity and labour. Implementing Willard Estey's recommendations will not deliver what farmers need."

In addition to the Ministers, copies of the NFU letter were sent to major farm organizations across western Canada.

For More Information:

• Cory Ollikka, NFU President: (780) 383 - 2148
• Stewart Wells, NFU Sask. Board member: (306) 773 - 6852
• Terry Boehm, NFU Trans. Committee Chair (306) 257 - 3689