The current grain backlog is costing farmers $11,000 to $13,000 a day in demurrage fees as ships wait at port for grain.

Todd Lewis, the President of APAS, has written the Federal Ag Minister and Transport Minister asking that the railways be held responsible for paying the bill.

Last week it was noted there was more grain in storage in the elevator system than at any other time in history.

There are now 30 ships stuck at ports in BC because of delayed grain shipments from Canadian farmers.

Lewis says it’s going to take a long time to dig out of this one.

"Producers are sitting on contracts that were supposed to be delivered in November, December, even October," he said. "The fact of the matter is that we're going to have road bands. As soon as the sun starts to shine, the rural municipalities are going to have to put the road bands on to protect the infrastructure in the countryside and also more producers yards won't be able to load a grain truck or a semi."

APAS is proposing that in any week that grain shipments fall below 85% on hopper car deliveries, both railways share the cost of demurrage and that these payments be retroactive to January 1st, 2018, when the problems became severe.

Lewis notes that the Senate Ag Committee made some recommendations on Bill C-49 sending it back to the Senate, which will then send it back to Parliament for revision.