Tye Olson the Crop Inputs Manager with Pioneer Elevator just outside of Estevan, shares on his busy year with the grain moving in and out of our area.

The day to day workings of a local elevator may not seem like much, but when you are relying on producers it can be hard. Olson was optimistic when explaining their past few months, "Its actually starting to get quiet around here again, that past few months have been busy with grain deliveries. Commodity prices have been stronger than we've seen in the past, for November, December, January time frame. Fertilizer prices have been quite aggressive in movement from October to January. So we were moving quite a bit of fertilizer at that time. Once again the market has flattened out, so guys haven't felt the pressure to buy. Other than that, we've been buying lots of grain, dumping grain, and loading rail cars."

As for the grains in demand throughout this season Olson shares, "Hard Red Wheat, Canola, and Durim have been at the top, especially wheat have been at a premium this time of year."

The producers are still bringing in grain and keeping the trains running, "We've probably been running trains every 2-3 weeks."

Olson comments on the challenges this winter, "The cold weather has really affected movement in and out of the elevators, this past month. On all commodities fertilizer and grain, and everything just doesn't run well in cold. It just seems the rail and producers themselves as contracts are made, its just tough to get them hauled in this weather. It's probably double the work for producers, to be moving it in the minus 30 weather. It's an added expense as well."