There’s no shortage of grain at Steve Lake’s Elora farm, but he’s quickly running out of places to put it all.
He operates Lake AG Ventures and represents the Grain Farmers of Ontario as director of district 10. Producers like him find themselves in the crossfire of the St. Lawrence Seaway Strike.
Talks between striking workers and management will resume Friday. With grain one of the main products that travels through the marine route, its movement is now stalled as a result of the dispute.
“I need to move the soybeans out of that bin that I have them in, in order to make room for the rest of the corn crop,” said Lake.
The chain reaction is already being felt by farmers.
“The big worry would be that we are now delayed at a very critical time of harvest,” said Lake. “So soybean harvest is wrapping up in the province but we’re moving into corn harvest.”
The longer the corn stays in the field, Lake says, the greater the risk that it will rot.
“We could see more vomitoxin produced in the corn crop, impacting what markets it can be used for,” he said.
Elora, Ont. farmer Steve Lake, is among those worried about the far-reaching impact of the seaway strike. (Spencer Turcotte/CTV Kitchener)
At the same time, he’s battling with the changing season.
“We need to use the proper time of year to harvest that crop when we’re able to do so. Once it’s covered in snow, our hands are tied,” said Lake.
The clock is also ticking for the seaway in terms of what it can move through once the temperature drops.
“They only operate certain months of the year and as we near closer to freeze up, our ability to export that crop is going to be severely compromised,” he said.
With representatives from both sides of the dispute preparing to sit down with a mediator to hash out their differences, Lake is hoping for a swift solution, with everything seeming to go against the grain as of late.
