With a potential labour disruption on both major railways starting August 22, a cloud has been cast over fall grain deliveries.

Hopefully, a strike or lockout does not occur on August 22, but at this point it doesn’t look promising.

Both sides in the dispute are reported to be far apart. Grain buyers are already reacting to the prospect of a major disruption. Rail movement will slow as we approach August 22 and so will the eagerness of grain buyers to do business. Buyers may not move to a “no bid” posting, but they will likely drop prices to discourage sales and deliveries.

Once grain movement comes to a standstill, it will take many weeks and perhaps months to get the system running efficiently again once the disruption ends. Many producers count on harvest grain sales to pay expenses.

That is now in doubt.

Grain movement could be curtained for an extended period of time and even if you can make sales, you may not like the discounted price. My advice is to hope for the best, but plan for the worst when it comes to your cash flow needs.