News
Producer car program updated for 2015-16 crop year

July 31, 2015, Winnipeg, MB - The Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) is making changes to the producer car program to ensure the program provides timely and efficient service to producers and producer car administrators. These changes take effect as of August 1, 2015.

These changes include:

• Issuing CGC identification numbers to producers.
• Allowing administrators to submit a weekly shipping request list.
• Requiring each producer provide an email address to the CGC to facilitate communication about a producer car order.
• Sending email confirmations to producers to ensure each producer car application has a confirmed sale before a car is allocated.
• Implementing a backlog rule and a performance allocation rule.

The Canada Grain Act entitles producers to order producer cars from the CGC to ship grain. The CGC allocates available producer cars, as determined by the railways, to applications in the order they are received (first in/first out). Producer cars are only allocated if the grain to be shipped is committed to a confirmed sale and there is an authorized destination.

Shipping request lists add flexibility to the allocation process and allow producer car administrators to request producer cars they want allocated in the following week. The lists are based on submitted and processed producer car applications.

The backlog rule ensures fair access to producer car loading sites because it limits the number of cars allocated to a producer or company to two times the maximum car spot at a loading site. Example: A producer can load up to eight cars at a four-car spot. After that, the next producer in the queue may load cars at that site.

The performance allocation rule means the CGC will only accept a producer car application if:

• A producer is identified on the order.
• There is a confirmed sale.
• The loading site is identified.
• There is an authorized destination.

August 4, 2015  By News release