There is a lot of good news in Canada's grain industry these days. Canada's middle-class farm families are growing the economy by increasing production, leading to more value-added processing and more exports of world-class grains and oilseeds.  Growers are benefiting from new technology and innovation that is helping them increase yield and improve environmental sustainability at the same time.   Growers are also reaping the rewards of the Governments' ambitious trade agenda that is giving Canadian farmers competitive access to markets all around the world.But no matter how much hard work grain farmers do, it is all for nought if the railways can't get grain to market.  And if a farmer's grain can't get to market, the farmer can't get paid.  Right now, across the Prairies farmers are facing this reality as railway performance plummets.  If the railways operated in a competitive market, this wouldn't happen, but they don't.  Unfortunately, it seems like it takes a crisis on the Prairies to get the railways to move our grain.When you look at a map of Canada, it's easy to understand why more than half of the grain grown in Canada gets to market in rail cars.  There is no other feasible way to get grain from our farm to the ports thousands of kilometres away.  Farmers and handlers are completely dependent on rail service and most often are in a position where they only have access to either CN or CP. This puts the grain industry at the mercy of the railway they are located on.This dependency has created a situation where grain shippers cannot take their business to another railway if the railway they are on is not offering acceptable service.  The mentality inside the rail companies seems to be that grain can always wait in the bin, so if they must pull back service, grain is the first to get rationed and the last to get served.This isn't a theoretical possibility but the far too common reality.  The Ag Transport Coalition has been reporting weekly shortages in car spotting over 50%. I know farmers who have been waiting to move grain since December and longer. What this means to the individual farmer is that when bills come due they can't be paid, and they cannot meet their loan and rent obligations.  Too many farmers are being forced into expensive financing in order to make ends meet before seeding starts this coming spring.Farmers don't forget that this has happened before.  Our last major grain shipping crisis was in the 2013/2014 crop year where it is estimated that backlogs cost the agriculture industry as much as $8 billion.  What's more, this wasn't a one-time cost.  The sector is still reeling from the damage that the crisis did to our reputation as a reliable supplier.  Crops such as oats, for example, are still working to regain market share in the United States after US buyers had to source their oats from countries as far-flung as Scandinavia while Canadian grain sat idle just north of the border.While we are pleased to see that Ministers MacAulay and Garneau have asked the railways to come up with a plan to get grain moving, farmers know that unless the legislative change is put in place, there will be no long-term security.  Farmers, shippers and the government need the tools contained in C-49 to hold the railways to account. Tools like reciprocal penalties, improved data collection and sharing, and long-haul interswitching that will create a more competitive environment.The Bill is intended to resolve systematic issues in the grain handling system, but as it is currently written, it falls short.  There is a good chance without amendments that farmers will once again suffer at the hands of the railways and we will need a farm crisis before we can get railways to act.  That is why the grain industry has recommended targeted amendments that will ensure Bill C-49 is the long-term fix the industry needs.The industry is asking the Senate to fulfil its role as the chamber of sober second thought to amend the bill and fix our issues for the long-term.  Grain farmers will be appearing before the House of Commons agriculture committee next week and will be asking the Committee to support the amended legislation when it comes back to the House and to get it passed as quickly as possible.A lot is riding on this legislation, because if farmers don't ship grain, they don't get paid. It's as simple as that.Jeff Nielsen farms south-east of Olds, Alberta growing barley, canola and wheat on 1350 acres. Jeff has been an active member of the agriculture community since 1999, when he was elected to the board of directors of United Grain Growers. Since then, Jeff has served as president of the Western Barley Growers Association and is currently president of Grain Growers of Canada. In 2008 Jeff was elected by the farmers to represent them at the Canadian Wheat Board as a Director for District 2, continuing the drive towards marketing freedom that we have today. Jeff is a strong believer in Canadian agriculture and strongly advocates for it.