Do - It - Yourself
Its all about saving money says the farmer, he has to haul it to the elevator anyway, so he might as well load it into the grain car himself and save the fees associated with delivering to the grain company of his choice, besides, he has to wait in line to unload anyway, so why not! Though it could amount to more, on average, a farmer can save $500 by do-it-yourself grain handling. The wheat is shipped directly to the export terminal where he will have the cost of $40/ton deducted for the shipping and he will pay for the cleaning fees. The shipment of a full hopper car can be about $3,500 as they hold from eighty to ninety ton.
Many farmers in the Melfort area have avoided seeding wheat this year in favour of the more profitable canola cash crop but the low temperatures of the last few days have dealt them a nasty blow. Frost damage is extensive though the crop might recover the yield would be substantially reduced so many farmers are in the midst of reseeding. Crop insurance will provide about $17 per acre but that will only cover the cost of operating the equipment to carry out the process and seed will have to come from the farmerís resources.