Grain growers in central Montana have long complained of being subject to unfair price increases. The request for mediation is the first since the railway signed a January dispute resolution agreement with the Montana Grain Growers Association and the Montana Farm Bureau.
It follows a complaint lodged by a Shelby wheat producer over shipping rates between Shelby and Portland, Ore..
Lola Raska with the Montana Grain Growers Association says the 3-cent increase, to 76-cents per bushel, would apply to 5 to 7 million bushels of grain annually. It could cost farmers up to $210,000 a year.
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