Prentice said Manitoba producers will be hurt, but not as bad as farmers in Saskatchewan and Alberta because of the province’s proximity to other ports.

“Prince Rupert and Thunder Bay are still open. And in the case of Manitoba, we ship more grain through Thunder Bay than the other two provinces. So again, a little less impact, but it depends where you’re shipping.”

To read more about this story, please visit CTV Winnipeg.

Professor Prentice was also on CBC’s Up To Speed: According to Grain Growers of Canada, more than 50 percent of grain exports travel through the Port of Vancouver. But movement stopped this morning as workers at Metro Vancouver grain terminals walked off the job and onto the picket lines. Barry Prentice is a professor of Supply Chain Management at the University of Manitoba. He tells host Faith Fundal what this strike means for Manitoba farmers in the midst of the harvest season.

According to University of Manitoba agricultural economist Derek Brewin, the 2018 “tweak” to the rate cap on grain has led to good service as well as increased investments by railways and elevator companies.

“The farmer is getting fairly well served,” said Brewin in an interview following his presentation entitled Grain Rail Transportation: Are We On The Right Track?

Read more