Grading grain is as much art as science and producers shouldn’t feel as though elevator companies have the last word.
Buyers and sellers have different perspectives which could lead to a difference of opinion. The only way producers can be certain of the grade is by sending samples to the Canadian Grain Commission.
Sampling grain from the truck as it flows into the bin is the best way to determine an average sample, say agrologists.
“You may have a mix of two grades in one bin from one field but if you have a good quality sample on which to take an average, that is the grade you should expect from that lot of grain,” said Rod Chelle of the Moose Jaw office of the grain commission.
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Grain kernels of different weights follow different paths in the auger and in the truck box, so sampling must be done to take advantage of this situation.
Operations supervisors at the grain commission recommend using a small can mounted on a stick. Samples should be taken beginning at the back of the grain stream and moving to the front, left then right and finally a sample from the centre.
Sampling should be done at regular intervals until the truck is empty. When the bin is full, the sample for that lot should be well blended and then a smaller two litre sample taken out and filed with a bin number.
The sample can then be sent to the grain commission for grading, which can be filed for marketing to the elevator or seed company.
“Farmers might balk at the cost of grading but it gives them the ammunition to make a better deal. They are dealing from a position of knowledge and a single grade increase or couple of points on the dockage pays for a lot of official grading,” said Chelle.
Farmers who are dissatisfied with a grain company’s grade can ask the buyer to send a sample to the grain commission. But the farmer must specify the sample be sent to the grain commission or the agent might send it to his own company’s grading office.
Certified grading costs range from $16.16 for wheat without protein testing to $26.11 for oilseeds.
Protein testing is an additional $12.84. Shipping costs to the nearest of the eight prairie grain commission service centre are charged to the producer. A call grade can be performed for $8.08. It is not official but is generally accurate.
Canadian Grain Commission offices are located in Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge, Saskatoon, Melville, Moose Jaw, Weyburn and Winnipeg.
