Elevator assessments | Appealing a measurement isn’t as difficult as farmers may think, says official
There is considerable farmer skepticism about the way protein content is measured at the elevator.
“You hear stories about when you take the same bag, same sample to elevator company A and then you go down the road to company B and it’s a different reading,” said Todd Lewis, vice-president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan.
“When you’re getting different readings, that’s where the guys kind of question it.”
The issue has been a hot topic on Agriville’s commodity marketing chat room.
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Growers are worried they are going to be cheated out of what could be substantial protein premiums this year.
One poster alleged that unscrupulous grain companies calibrate their protein testing machines to provide false readings that are lower than the actual level.
Another complained that the testing is done behind closed doors rather than at the front counter.
Most of the concerns surrounded the lack of checks and balances. One grower wondered why elevator companies don’t provide a printed readout of the protein test, similar to a scale ticket.
Lewis agreed that the process is far too secretive and lopsided.
“Transparency and consistency are the big two parts that farmers are concerned about,” he said.
“You have a number there and you can’t even say it’s worth the paper it’s printed on because they won’t print it.”
Protein spreads are expected to widen this fall with poor quality wheat and durum crops being harvested in Canada, the United States and the European Union.
It is already happening south of the border in Montana, where there is a $1 per bushel premium for hard red spring wheat with 15 percent protein versus 14 percent.
A Reuters story said that the average protein content for spring wheat tested by North Dakota State University was 13.6 percent with 43 percent of the crop harvested, which is below the five-year average of 14 percent.
Protein content of the U.S. hard red winter wheat crop averaged 13.3 percent, which is well above the normal range of 12 to 12.5 percent. However, winter wheat production was well below normal.
Daryl Beswitherick, program manager for quality assurance standards with the Canadian Grain Commission, doesn’t think Canada’s protein levels will be lower than normal based on this year’s weather conditions.
Lewis said an incorrect protein reading could result in a big loss for a farmer. A durum sample that comes in at 13.3 percent might be .2 percentage points shy of a achieving a $1 per bu. premium.
“It’s a major issue,” he said.
Lewis would like to see more consistency in protein measurements.
Beswitherick doesn’t think that is entirely achievable.
“There is a plus or minus .2 (percentage points) error rate that could happen on the machines,” he said.
There are also natural occurrences that can lead to confusion at the elevator. It is not unusual for a bin of 13.5 percent wheat to have one load that is 13.3 percent and the next one 13.6 percent. It depends on how hilly the field was and how consistently the fertilizer was applied.
Some growers are under the mistaken impression that the grain commission monitors the protein testing process.
“We don’t oversee any of the primary elevator machines. The cost of that would be huge,” said Beswitherick.
It is up to grain companies to properly calibrate their equipment. The commission tests only shipments for protein content at export terminals.
However, growers are encouraged to use the grain commission’s Harvest Sample Program to receive a free unofficial assessment of the grade, dockage and protein levels of their wheat.
“A lot of producers just take it to the elevator they’re selling to and ask for what their grade is,” said Beswitherick.
“Why would you do that because wouldn’t you want to know what you have before you go to the guy that’s going to buy it?”
Appealing an elevator’s assessment of grade, dockage, moisture or protein to the grain commission is another tool that growers can use if they feel they are being unfairly treated.
Lewis said many growers are leery about going that route.
“It’s a cumbersome process,” he said.
“Right now it seems we’re talking weeks or a month to get this stuff settled, and guys aren’t willing to do that because of the cash flow situation.”
Beswitherick said that is inaccurate: the process takes a matter of days and is easy to initiate.
The buyer and seller have to agree on a representative sample to submit to the grain commission and fill out a form to accompany the sample.
“Once the sample arrives in our office, we have five days to complete it, and I would venture to guess most of those samples get done in the first day or two,” he said.
Beswitherick said protein levels won’t be adjusted unless the difference is greater than .2 percentage points because of the inherent error rate in the testing machines.
The commission issues a certificate to each party once the sample has been processed, and the results are binding.
The elevator is invoiced for the service, and either the grower or the elevator operator pays the bill.
