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

A contract dispute between Canada Pacific Railway and the union 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."

Fertilizer is front of mind for many farmers. Boxall said seeding will begin in the northeast by May 1 and potentially 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.