File photo of propane tanks. (Joe_Potato/iStock/Getty Images)

Union says propane shortfalls may be CN’s own making

Propane shortages for grain dryers and heating fuel in the wake of a strike by Canadian National Railway (CN) conductors and yard workers appear to be “largely manufactured” by the railway, according to the union for the striking workers. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC-CTY), which represents over 3,000 CN staff in Canada who walked […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Propane shortage looms as CN strike hits third day

Winnipeg/Ottawa | Reuters — Shippers scrambled to shift freight onto trucks on Thursday as a strike at Canada’s biggest railroad, Canadian National Railway, hit its third day, leaving the critical fuel propane and other goods stranded. Some 3,200 unionized employees, including conductors and yard workers, hit picket lines on Tuesday in the biggest such action […] Read more

The harvesting of the rest of the Ontario corn crop could be held up by the CN strike, especially in eastern Ontario.

CN strike a threat for Ontario farmers

Inventory overload and lack of propane deliveries delays harvest

[Update Nov. 21, 2019] Farmers in southern and central Ontario are now reporting that they won’t get more propane delivered until after the CN strike is settled.   The more than 3,000 Canadian National Railway workers who walked off the job Tuesday put a wrench in an already-tough harvest for farmers. The strike is poorly […] Read more

Vanessa Kummer checks the quality of her family farm’s 2018 soybean crops near Colfax, N.D. on Aug. 6, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Dan Koeck)

U.S. books latest end to soy harvest in a decade

MarketsFarm —The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in its oilseed crops outlook issued Wednesday, said the country’s 2019 soybean harvest will wind up the latest in 10 years. As of Sunday, the overall U.S. soybean harvest stood at 85 per cent complete, according to USDA’s weekly crop progress report. The pace was two points behind […] Read more

Standing corn west of Giroux, Man. on Oct. 21, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Corn harvest a struggle for three U.S. states

MarketsFarm — With a significant amount of corn still in the fields on the U.S. northern Plains, the harvest may be grinding to a halt, according to MarketsFarm analyst Bruce Burnett. In particular, Burnett noted, the corn harvest has been further slowed by a propane shortage, which has caused issues for farmers trying to acquire […] Read more