Farm Progress America, August 26, 2024

Mike Pearson takes a look at the potential rail workers strike that was averted by now in Canada.

On late Thursday after negotiations, the Canadian rail companies, Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City had locked out 9,000 teamsters.

However, within hours, an arbitrator stepped in and order workers back to work. The labor dispute will now be decided through court arbitration.

The strike would impact U.S. farmers heavily if it had continued.

The rail system between Canada and USA is key in moving grain and fertilizer between the two countries.

A lengthy strike would have impacted the fertilizer trade between Canada and the USA hurting U.S. farmer heavily. Over 85 percent of the fertilizer moves by rail between the two countries.

Rail transport is also key to the ag relationship between Canada and the USA and the strike threatened to hurt U.S. exports.

Barley, ethanol , soybean meal and corn which all depend on rail service would have been hurt because they depend on rail between the two countries.

The strike also would have caused ripple effects across ag sectors due to lost export opportunities.

Farm Progress America is a daily look at key issues in agriculture. It is produced and presented by Mike Pearson, farm broadcaster and host of This Week in Agribusiness .