Canadian grain farmers call for speedy passage of Bill C-49

Feb 15, 2018

Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) President, Jeff Nielsen, along with members the Alberta Wheat Commission and Canadian Canola Growers Association appeared before the Senate Standing Committee on Transport and Communications Feb. 14, 2018 to stress the importance of the rapid passage of Bill C-49, the Transportation Modernization Act.

“Bill C-49 contains many of the changes farmers and grain shippers have been requesting for a long time,” said GGC President, Jeff Nielsen. “Reciprocal penalties, a clear definition of adequate and suitable service, and increased transparency and data sharing will go a long way towards creating a reliable, fair, and accountable rail system for the future.”

In all, seven stakeholders in the grain value chain appeared before committee yesterday to provide a united voice and a common message that rapid passage of the Bill is increasingly vital. As reported by the Ag Transport Coalition, hopper car deliveries are decreasing week over week, compounding the grain backlog at elevators and on farms. It is expected that the situation will worsen before it improves.

“Any costs associated with delivery delays inevitably roll down to me, the farmer,” said Warren Sekulic, GGC Director speaking for the Alberta Wheat Commission yesterday. “I plan my grain deliveries out prudently so I can meet my payments and cancelled car orders and poor service from the railways have a direct impact on my bottom line. Farmers need C-49 now so we can stay in business.”

“Canadian grain shipping needs a strong and balanced regulatory shipping system for the future,” said Steve Pratte, Policy Manager with the Canadian Canola Growers Association. “Our message to the Committee is clear – pass C-49 now.”

Source : Grain Growers of Canada

Video: Seeing the Whole Season: How Continuous Crop Modeling Is Changing Breeding

Plant breeding has long been shaped by snapshots. A walk through a plot. A single set of notes. A yield check at the end of the season. But crops do not grow in moments. They change every day.

In this conversation, Gary Nijak of AerialPLOT explains how continuous crop modeling is changing the way breeders see, measure, and select plants by capturing growth, stress, and recovery across the entire season, not just at isolated points in time.

Nijak breaks down why point-in-time observations can miss critical performance signals, how repeated, season-long data collection removes the human bottleneck in breeding, and what becomes possible when every plot is treated as a living data set. He also explores how continuous modeling allows breeding programs to move beyond vague descriptors and toward measurable, repeatable insights that connect directly to on-farm outcomes.

This conversation explores:

• What continuous crop modeling is and how it works

• Why traditional field observations fall short over a full growing season

• How scale and repeated measurement change breeding decisions

• What “digital twins” of plots mean for selection and performance

• Why data, not hardware, is driving the next shift in breeding innovation As data-driven breeding moves from research into real-world programs, this discussion offers a clear look at how seeing the whole season is reshaping value for breeders, seed companies, and farmers, and why this may be only the beginning.