Grain Journal | Possible railroad strike clouds prospects for Prairies …

Bill Prybylski, vice-president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS), who farms in the southeast of the province, said the moisture was welcome at first as it helped plants develop, but persistent rain and cool conditions have slowed growth.

“The recent heavy rains have dampened expectations somewhat, however,” he said. “Also, the plants are developing a little slowly. I think the cool weather, especially the cool nights, have delayed the development of the plants.”

According to Prybylski, more rain would ultimately do more harm than good in most areas of the province. Most farmers would like higher temperatures, preferably around -5 degrees, which would be good for the harvest.

“It would be great if we could have a few weeks of this and let the plants mature,” he said.

Despite these challenges, Prybylski said there is still overall optimism that farmers will reap a good, average-sized harvest.

But farmers, as well as many shippers in Canada, now face some uncertainty due to a possible disruption to rail traffic.

On June 29, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), which represents workers at Canadian National Railway Co. (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. (CPKC), announced that its members had again voted overwhelmingly to give their union a strike mandate.

originally published at: https://thestarphoenix.com/new…