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Gerard Oosterhuis farms near Bow Island, about 150 kilometres
from the U.S. border.
“The key, in my opinion, to marketing grain is to know what
you have,” said Oosterhuis. “We put a lot of effort into sampling
when we transfer grain to our bins at harvest, and we get third-
party grades on the resulting samples. We are very confident
that those grades are representative of our production, and our
marketing success over the years bears that out.”
Oosterhuis shops his samples around to three Canadian and
two U.S. companies.
“I can’t say I’ve ever had an issue with a grade at a delivery
point,” said Oosterhuis. “If I’ve ever not been happy with it, I’ve
always been able to work it out, mainly because I am confident
my samples truly represent my production. I’ve never officially
contested a grade.”
Oosterhuis regularly ships grain to the U.S.
“Where I deliver in the U.S., the grading is not done at the
driveway, but at the state lab,” he explained. “There can be
significant delays in getting grades back.”
Oosterhuis noted that, although there are differences north
and south of the border, they go both ways.
“In the U.S., they do falling number analysis on samples,”
explained Oosterhuis. “Here, we use visual indicators to
estimate falling number and there are times when it is far more
beneficial for me to sell my wheat in Canada. The onus, in my
opinion, is on the farmer to understand both grading systems,
understand there are pros and cons to both, and then he can
make better decisions about where to market his grain.”
Jeff Nielsen farms at Olds, in an area
where quality can regularly take a beating
due to the climatic conditions.
“You have to know what you have to
market,” said Nielsen. “I always take my
grain to at least three companies, and I take
it out of my own area as a double-check on
the grades.”
While Nielsen streams samples when
the grain is transferred to the bin at harvest,
he generally does not get an independent
third-party grade on it prior to shopping it
around.
“In all my years farming and marketing my production, I’ve
never had a grade dispute,” said Nielsen. “That said, don’t be
satisfied with just one person grading your sample, especially
this past year when there is definitely some variability.”
“Understanding crop quality is very important to us,” said Lynne
Sweeney, assistant vice-president, quality assurance and food
safety, at Richardson International. “The more we understand
about the physical and intrinsic attributes of the crop, the better
we are able to collect and assemble individual commodities
and anticipate how they will perform in processing
environments consistent with end-use customer needs.”
Additionally, Sweeney noted that companies that market
grain also have to manage food-safety risks and requirements to
comply with import regulations in the various countries where
they sell grain.
Richardson’s frontline staff work to accurately interpret and
verify the quality and food-safety characteristics of the crops
they market, according to Sweeney.
“A discount or cargo rejection due to a quality or food-safety
deficiency is a risk we can’t afford from a financial and quality-
assurance perspective,” said Sweeney.
Staff at Richardson facilities use globally recognized food
safety certification schemes (such as hazard analysis and
critical control points, or HACCP) and train to stay up-to-date
with national and international standards, Sweeney said.
Furthermore, the company employs a corporate calibration
program to routinely validate the accuracy of its equipment.
There are a number of third-party providers in the grain-grading
business in Canada. These companies grade based on the
Canadian or U.S. grading standards, take samples, provide
training and serve any number of other functions on a fee-for-
service basis.
NormWoodbeck is the manager of agri-
operations for Canada at Intertek. Prior to
taking on this position, he spent 37 years
at the CGC, where his final posting was
as acting chief grain inspector. His vast
experience in grading stretches from coast
to coast, and everything in between.
“This year is a classic example of what
happens in our business,” said Woodbeck.
“We’ve gone three years without any major
weather issues causing problems, and this
year we are seeing the full gamut. I have to
work very closely with our inspectors to identify the problems
and assess them properly.”
Training in grain inspection is ongoing no matter where the
grain inspector works.
“The grain companies, ourselves and anyone who inspects
grain needs to be training every year,” said Woodbeck. “Grain
inspection is an art, as well as a science, and it’s only with years
of experience that an inspector gains enough knowledge and
exposure to become really confident. Even now, every day
for me is an opportunity to learn, after 40-plus years in this
business.”
Winter
2015
Grains
West
28
“Don’t be satisfied with
just one person grading
your sample, especially
this past year when
there is definitely some
variability.”
–Jeff Nielsen