The switch from KVD to producer declarations has experienced a few growing pains, but is generally working well, say industry officials.
On Aug. 1, 2008, the system of using kernel visual distinguishability (KVD) to identify wheat varieties being delivered into the grain handling system was abandoned.
In its place, farmers are required to sign a declaration that the wheat they are delivering is eligible for a specific class of western Canadian wheat.
Gord Miles, chief operating officer of the Canadian Grain Commission, told a grain industry meeting last week that a few minor problems have been reported, but overall the changeover has gone smoothly.
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“Anecdotally we’ve heard that there are cases where producers either didn’t know or lost track of what they were growing,” he said.
“In one case it was a deregistered variety that showed up.”
That’s perfectly understandable, said Miles, because deregulation of a variety doesn’t usually receive much public notice.
However, Miles said it also reflects the fact that there is still some education to be done among producers.
“It forces them to know exactly what they’re delivering, which is a bit of a change,” he said.
“It’s up to the producer to know what he’s growing and delivering and it’s up to the grain companies to do some monitoring and analysis to ensure what’s coming into the system is valid.”
Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association, said the change has been aided by the fact that the declaration forms are similar to the old ineligible-variety forms with which most farmers are familiar.
“We feel this has gone pretty smoothly,” he said. “There seems to be a healthy level of acceptance and not a lot of resistance.”
Sobkowich has heard a few stories of farmers not being asked to sign declarations, but those would be rare situations.
“There is an increasing level of awareness among farmers (and) we’re continuing to try to get information out there are widely as possible.”
