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
Union says propane shortfalls may be CN’s own making
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
Propane-starved East’s grain growers seek end to CN strike
Farmers fighting through a soggy harvest in Eastern Canada have joined their western counterparts’ call for an end to the strike by Canadian National Railway workers — not to get grain out, but to get propane in. Restoring the supply of propane for Quebec’s farm businesses, in the wake of a Canada-wide strike launched Tuesday […] Read more
U.S. states declare emergencies to help farmers in propane shortage
Reuters — Regional shortages of propane, which is used for heating homes and barns and by farmers to dry their crops, have led to emergency declarations covering nine U.S. Midwest states amid late harvests of soggy grains. Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin declared state emergencies beginning in late October, and continued last Friday to […] Read more
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
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
Scramble for propane marks Mother Nature’s latest challenge for U.S. farmers
Chicago | Reuters – Months after historic floods ravaged the U.S. Midwest, farmers scrambling to harvest their crops face a new headache: finding fuel to dry their soaked grains. Normally, farmers use propane as fuel for grain dryers to reduce moisture levels in corn crops to ready for sale or to safely store the grain. But the […] Read more
Rebates on fuel taxes and the carbon levy
Reading Time: < 1 minute Most producers know about the fuel tax exemption on farm gasoline and diesel, but may be confused when it comes to propane, says provincial crop specialist Neil Blue. Only motive propane (used for vehicles) should have the 9.4-cent-per-litre Alberta fuel tax on it. If producers have been charged that tax for an on-farm use (such […] Read more
Propane demand for grain dryers surges amidst wet harvest
Use is 2-1/2 times higher than normal as producers struggle to dry their high-moisture grain
Reading Time: 2 minutes This year’s wet harvest is driving up demand for propane needed to run grain dryers. “Normally the propane sector is totally able to meet the demand but this year, the demand is 2-1/2 times what it usually is in the fall,” said Nathalie St-Pierre, president of the Canadian Propane Association. “There’s a lot of pressure […] Read more
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