It’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty of VED.
The Canadian Grain Commission is wrapping up two months of industry consultations on its proposed variety eligibility declaration, or VED, system designed to protect the purity of Canadian grain shipments.
The consultation process involved 72 meetings with individuals and organizations, six focus groups attended by representatives from 55 farm groups, and 55 written submissions, along with e-mails and phone calls.
Within the next few weeks, the commission is expected to convene a group of producers, grain handlers and the Canadian Wheat Board to try to figure out how a VED system might work.
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“This is going to be a roll-up-your-sleeves kind of group,” said CGC spokesperson Paul Graham.
The group will attempt to map out the logistical changes that would have to be made in the grain delivery, handling and transportation systems to ensure a load of grain could be traced back from an overseas destination to the farm from which it originated.
“The task is to identify where changes would have to occur and what the cost implications of that would be,” said Graham. “We need to do that before we can complete our cost-benefit analysis, which is all part of deciding whether this is a good idea.”
The consultations up to now have been aimed more at getting general reaction to the concept of VED and identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the commission’s proposal.
Graham said there seems to be virtually unanimous agreement that something needs to be done to prevent unwanted grain varieties from getting into the grain handling system and contaminating export shipments.
But the unanimity doesn’t extend to the CGC’s proposed solution.
“As to whether the VED proposal is a good idea or not, I’d say the reviews are mixed,” he said.
Under the proposed VED system, every time grain changes hands from the farm to the vessel at port, a declaration would have to be signed that the grain is on a list of eligible varieties published by the grain commission.
Samples would be taken at each transfer point – from farm to trucker, from trucker to elevator, from elevator to rail car, from rail car to terminal and from terminal to vessel – and retained for an unspecified period of time.
The CGC would test every export cargo to ensure it contained only eligible varieties before issuing a final certificate.
Loads contaminated with an ineligible variety would be downgraded and traced back to discover the source of contamination.
The party found responsible would be held liable and financially accountable in a yet-to-be-determined way.
Graham said the consultations showed there’s a lot of interest in the issue.
“It’s something that affects everybody,” he said. “Everybody has an interest in quality and making sure that the quality control system functions properly.”
Many of those who don’t like the CGC’s proposal have put forward alternative proposals to deal with the problem.
No major changes are expected to be introduced before August 2004.
Graham added interest has been heightened by several incidents last year of unregistered grain varieties being delivered to country elevators.
In one case, the grain was detected in rail cars at export position, while in another it was detected at the primary elevator.
