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The Montana Wheat
and Barley Committee (MW & BC) is the producer-funded and directed
checkoff organization for wheat and barley growers in the state. The MW
& BC is attached to the Montana Department of Agriculture for administrative
purposes.
The Montana State Legislature appropriates the funds budgeted by the MW
& BC directors. The Committee, by mandate of state statute, is supported
exclusively by a self-assessment which producers pay on the sale of their
wheat and barley to fund foreign and domestic marketing development and
research programs.
Wheat and barley are the principal grain crops produced in Montana and
are agricultural resources of the first magnitude in the economy of the
state. These commodities enter a domestic and world market that is highly
competitive. Therefore, it is the mission of the Montana Wheat and Barley
Committee to protect and foster the health, prosperity, and general welfare
of this industry by encouraging and promoting intensive, scientific, and
practical research into all phases of the wheat and barley culture and
production, marketing, and end-use and, further, to aid in the development
of markets for wheat and barley grown in Montana.
HOT TOPICS
52 Car Wheat Rates With or Without Fuel (View Table)
MT 110-120 Car Shuttle Domestic Wheat Rates to PNW (View Table)
The charts above depict the escalating effects BNSF fuel surcharges are having on the tariff charges being assessed on Montana producers. While the BNSF maintains that they lowered rates in Montana during 2008 (selected shuttle points by $100 per car in March), the fuel surcharges continue to increase charges on Montana producers. In order to provide the most accurate look at transportation costs, the MWBC is providing a complete by-origin, by-month tariff rate analysis, both without and with fuel surcharges. Tables in the second link show the effect of fuel surcharges on overall rates at selected shuttle and 52-car rates around the state.
The Montana Wheat and Barley Committee will update these charts and data sheets each month throughout the year to provide the growers with the most accurate and up-to-date freight rates for each origin in Montana. These rates, including fuel surcharges, will give each grower an accurate estimate of the transportation charges that are being accessed at the origin elevator and reflective of the transportation deduct for that location.
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