JTRF Volume 56 No. 3, Fall 2017Bringing in the Sheaves: Changes in Canada’s Grain Supply Chain Through the Post Canadian Wheat Board Era

Abstract

Vast distances in the Canadian grain handling system means that the supply chain is highly reliant on rail transportation. After years of relative stability, the grain supply chain has recently undergone many signifi cant changes, including deregulation in grain handling. However, the consequences emerging from some of these changes were unexpected. In this paper, we explore the evolving behavior of participants in the increasingly liberalized Canadian grain handling supply chain. The changes seem to be creating new winners and losers in the system. To this end, we fi nd that while current railroad regulations in Canada have led to effi ciencies, deregulation of grain handling seems to have generated gains for grain companies at the expense of farmers.