Sampling crops accurately and knowing for sure what’s in the bin, on the truck or in the pit can add more value to a crop than a timely July rain.
Samples can be deceiving, said Merv Berscheid, who brokers grain for producers across the Prairies from his Saskatoon office.
“We have had many cases of peas, for instance, that look like feed until they are split,” he said.
Once split, the condition of the cotyledon indicates the true value of a crop, said Berscheid of CGF Brokerage.
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“It can mean several dollars a bushel in some cases.”
Norm Woodbeck advises producers and the grain industry about the importance of collecting samples that truly represent the crop. He manages quality assurance standards for the Canadian Grain Commission.
“The grain industry is a quality based system. Sampling is critical at all levels,” Woodbeck said.
A few ounces from a 60,000 tonne shipload of canola can be as accurate a representation as a farmer’s one kilogram jar of seeds from a 1,650 bu. grain bin, Woodbeck said.
“Sampling properly and then grading that sample according to standards will help to deliver fair prices to all parties involved,” said Woodbeck.
Berscheid said getting fair prices requires objective measures and making sure that buyers know what to expect from a shipment.
“We encourage producers to send us a sample and, other than with malt barley, it’s free. We’ll give them a grade and they can determine what they want to do when it comes to marketing after that,” he said.
Woodbeck said the grain commission also encourages producers to send in grain samples to establish grade and dockage.
“The fall harvest survey is a great time to find out what you’re putting in the bin and get a graded sample that you can use when marketing your crop,” he said.
To take part in the CGC harvest survey, producers can request a kit from the commission. Producers take samples during harvest, put them in the envelopes supplied and mail them. The CGC pays the postage. They receive graded results in a few weeks.
Farmer shouldn’t assume others will look after sampling.
Woodbeck said grain buyers are often hundreds of kilometres away from the originating farms. Commercial truckers handle the transport and have no vested interest in sampling the grain as it is delivered and elevator employees no longer have a personal relationship with the farmer selling the crop.
“Sampling has never been more important for this industry,” he said.
Samples could be misleading this year because of low bushel weights.
“We are seeing some durum and hard red spring (wheat) that visually is a No. 1. Its bushel weight tells a different story. A 2 or 3 because of the heat stress that we had,” Woodbeck said.
Because of this problem, he recommends buyers and sellers rely on the Cox funnel method for determining weight this season.
He suggests producers use the sampling guide available online or by mail from the commission.
Producers can sign up for the Harvest Sample Program on the website at www.grainscanada.gc.ca.
