MacGregor Manitoba - Canadian Pacific Railway's (CP) considering the reduction of grain hauled along its western corridor major feeder lines, including the north main line route serving customers between Portage la Prairie and Wetaskiwin, Alberta.
 
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service expects Canada's production of corn, one of CP's main Canadian grains, to drop by 10 percent in 2016 and 2017, contributing to an overall drop in oat, corn, barley, and wheat production.
 
MacGregor farmer Curtis Sims claims that's not altogether true.
 
"CP is talking about cutting staff and reducing capacity right at the first sign of any trouble. In fact, it was only a couple of years ago they were way behind. As farmers, we're nervous about the same thing happening about reducing their capacity. There's going to be more corn grown in Manitoba than previous years. And as far as grain production in the general west, it's not really about price as it is about volume."
 
Sims notes they're expecting no decrease in volume.
 
"I expect the volume will be just as good depending on the weather. We're not in charge of that. But the volume will still be there. I think as farmers I could say we're pretty sensitive to CP trying to cut back just to save costs. They don't care that much about us as far as our experience. To them it's all about cutting costs, not so much about customer service, it seems as of late."
 
He explains Canadian National Railway (CN) hasn't been such a problem.
 
"Just anecdotally and generally, it seems they (CN) have been more reliable, a little more customer-oriented. Some of the comments by the chairman of CP over the last two or three years really have been pretty obnoxious almost to the farming community, really obviously all about shareholders and not much about customers and not much about service, really, it seems. That's what their attitude seems to be at the head office anyway."
 
Michael Blume.