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Shipping Hay by Rail
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<p>[quote user="AgentKid"]</p> <p><span style="font-size:small;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">I have been meaning to ask this question before, but I thought of it again yesterday after reading more news about this continent wide drought. There is talk now that there may have to be a government program to ship hay from western Canada, where there is some supply, to cattle ranchers in eastern Canada who are running out of feed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:small;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">When bulkhead flatcars were introduced on the CPR in the '60's, one of the intended uses for the cars were to ship baled hay. In those days of course it was square bales, but you could use the same cars for round bales as well. In Canada this business plan failed after a couple of years.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:small;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">My question is, what is the state of railroad hay shipments in the US, or was there ever any business for that crop. </span></span><span style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:small;">Bruce </span>[/quote]</p> <p>Last year, when Texas was in the midst of one of the worst droughts on record, according to the news media in the Lone Star state, significant amounts of hay were shipped in from the upper midwest. Just west of where I live one could see numerous trucks with hay almost every day.</p> <p>Trucks are more efficient for hay deliveries in Texas. It can be loaded at its source and delivered directly to the rancher. It would be unusual for a rancher to buy more than a truck load of hay. </p> <p>In the case of Texas, shipping it by rail would mean picking it up from a grower or a grower's co-operative, placing it on suitable rail cars, delivering it to a rail delivery point in Texas, loading it onto a truck, and delivering it to the buyer. Not a good plan.</p>
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