Grading, protein, falling numbers

[JDGreen]

Quick poll: how many of you have an actual moisture tester, protein tester, and falling number machine thingamajig... seems today's multimillion dollar operations can invest in 450,000 combines, 350,000 sprayers, spend gargantuan amounts on all kinds of other crap, and yet no one seems to be able to invest in their own $8000 protein testers, or $5000 falling number machine.. Pretty small investment in comparison.. I'm no better, all I have is a good moisture tester but currently shopping for a protein tester and falling number machine for my own use.. I spend WAY too much effort running samples here and there checking protein etc when I can do it myself. Next how many of you have completed some grading course whether Intertek, SGS, CGC?? There is no way that a modern farm business should not be able to grade it's own grain prior to letting some other grain companies clowns dissect it with their crossed eyes and magnifyin glasses.. You can't defend it if you don't have the skills or equipment I say ..

[fjlip]

Boy, glad I'm too small, too near retirement to think of all that stuff. This is getting way to complicated. Enjoy!

[hobbyfrmr]

http://www.sunwestlab.ca/about/facilities

[Oliver88]

Im not a big time operator with a new combine and sprayer but I have a Labtronics moisture tester.

Keep us posted on your protein tester/ falling number tester research. Maybe with the right contacts the middle man can be cut out?? ($8000 sounds ridiculous)

I like the idea of taking a grading course. If anyone is aware of a good course/clinic pass on the details.

[Hopalong]

Maybe all this talk on AV about grain companies cheating farmers is just that.
Have trouble maintaining and trusting our own moisture tester.
Expect elevators have same trouble with maintenance and finding trained and experienced operators for equipment.
Wonder if larger farms in other parts of world do their own falling number and vomi test.
Getting pretty disgusted with the constant effort by some AV posters to discredit our handling and marketing system.

[bucket]

Yesterday the protein out of the same gallon pale at 3 different locations varied from 12. 8 to 13.6.



Moisture was lower than the labtronics tester at home by half a point as well.

It seems to me much like storage it's cheaper for the graincos to let the farmer buy everything. If that's the cost of machines sure I can buy them for what maybe 20 test a year. Meanwhile a grainco could do 1000s tests.

The local can't grade without sending a sample away. All they need is now clerks to write the scale numbers down.

Better yet why not go to a card lock system for delivery. Swipe card. Enter. Dump. Drive away.

[bucket]

I also need to buy a grain dryer because the graincos can't make sense of owning those either. They won't paper dry or blend to dry either.

I think this system is well past ****ed.

I am not sure why I don't set up near a track and bypass these guys that don't want to invest in their industry.

If I remember right farmers picked up the bill for the first go round of protein testers at elevators.

[farmaholic]

Hopalong. I was delivering durum last August to a terminal taking grain on a Saturday. Manager was running the scale, had one other of his own men for probing and what have you but had to hire an "independant grader" because the rest of his unionized crew "were out of time". Point is the grader had every load over 90% HVK. Monday comes and I resume hauling and the grain from the same field and bin miraculously falls into the 70s. Call it incompetent or crooked.... I have a story
about malt barley that got wheat mixed in with it and if it wasn't for a locked box sample the manager would have hung me with the rejected sample as feed. I've posted the story of the guy who picked and then picked a durum sample some more until
he had it down to a three.... These are true stories. What else has happened that I wasn't aware of or before I started becoming more aware makes me sick to my stomach to think of the possibilities.

Some of us have reasons for doubt and mistrust. If all your experiences have been nothing but positive...good for you. But keep your eyes open and watch your back!!!

[bucket]

They are picking pretty hard for what they are paying.

[Guest]

well i'm not trying to discredit anyone , they are doing it to themselves . all i know for sure is that i agree with bucket , finding same thing here including grades all over the place .the other thing i know for sure is that they took at least $2.50 a bushel on us for basis on wheat last winter ,no one can dispute that . that goes a long way to discrediting themselves. does anyone think that was necessary ? as far as grading and protien we are going to send a sample of every bin into the grain comm. to get it graded by a professional and i'm not buying anyones horseshit anymore . also try and get a car to ship wheat or oats to the US , good luck on that .the other thing i noticed is that all this discussion on av is making people take notice .the western producer has wrote at least 2 articles that i know of quoting agriville farmers complaints !

[farmaholic]

Bucket: It's in "their" best interest.....

[JDGreen]

Owning these machines is not complicated nor is the cost prohibitive. Right now trying to deal with many different durum samples and to even get anything graded can take upwards of a week.. By owning these machines you have your own check system to compare when you get results from other handlers.. Was delivering grain graded and sold on bin samples the last couple days.. The first 14,000 bushels of unloads grade poorer than the check samples. I make a call and ask who the magic grading fairy of the day is... Next 6000 out of same bin miraculously move up a grade.. Now have to go through regrading the first 14,000.. My point is that we are relying on other people.. Everybody sees things differently... I also have seen protein vary up to 0.5% from terminal to terminal this year alone. Therefore why wouldn't I want to have my own protein tester?? Would provide a constant and pay for itself within a very short time frame.

[bucket]

Farmaholic


Sadly you are right.

I was getting excited about putting ideas forward to the cwb about how to make a user friendly elevator at their state of the art projects.

Instead I was met with a guy telling me has 30 years in the elevator industry.

Single lane white elephants.

OK then. Also asked for condo space . Nope. Cheaper for farmers to build on farm.

WTF farmers are paying for the condo space.

It doesn't have to linked to elevator. It could be a series of bins with separate facility. I could have hauled grain to a condo point when it was too tough to combine. Then when they were shipping I could go and shuttle grain into elevator.

[bucket]

Jd green

They pay on protein what unloads not what your tester says.

I have had grain out of one bin test 11 to 15 protein when hauling. Probes are a retarded way of testing loads. It's a teaspoon out of a super b . Good for some things I won't mention here.

I noticed the comments in the western producer as well.

[farmaholic]

JD... it's simply a head ****/game. Now you think you've been done a favor. The weak may accept something lower than you agreed to based on "good representative bin samples" before delivery.

I've been told not to worry about what the graders are doing on the driveway, the "office" will make the adjustments. Why bother grading then? It's all a game... it's likely the grader's job to get it as low as is reasonably possible and the office staff know that. The sad part is they look more and more incompetent as producers get more and more aware and sophisticated. Some will be taken...