The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) has awarded four grain-handling facilities with its “Grain Handler of the Year” designation, recognizing excellence in the grain companies that serve farmers.
“Acknowledging our grain industry partners’ expertise, high performance and commitment is at the core of this awards program,” said Ian White, CWB president and CEO. “We all work together to put farmers first and to market their world-class grain to the world.”
The CWB depends on strong partnerships with grain companies in order to ship the wheat, durum and barley grown by western Canadian farmers. In 2009-10, grain exports totaled 18.7 million tonnes. Effective shipping performance is essential to getting farmers’ grain to customers on time, providing farmers with good service and keeping farmers’ shipping costs as low as possible. Altogether, there are approximately 250 different stations and terminals that handle grain grown by Prairie farmers.
“It is great to recognize the companies that have similar farmer-focused goals,” said Rick Steinke, Vice president, Logistics. “This teamwork directly benefits farmers while the companies earn the right to call themselves the top handler for a year.”
Inland grain shippers are selected for overall effectiveness and accuracy of shipments. Criteria for ocean-port grain terminals included accuracy, timeliness and the flexibility to adapt to new programs and methods.
This is the second annual set of awards. The winners in the four categories for the 2009-10 crop year are:
Shipper to a Canadian port: Cargill Limited, a grain handling facility in Moose Jaw, SK.
Shipper to the U.S.: Weyburn Inland Terminal Ltd., a high-capacity elevator in Weyburn, SK.
Eastern port terminal: Cargill Limited, at Baie-Comeau, PQ.
Western port terminal: Viterra (Cascadia Vancouver), at the Port of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC.
