Wheat grading

[Herc]

Trust the grain graders, they have a 2 day course you don’t have…..

[wmoebis]

I think the frustrating thing for farmers are the grade variances between elevators. V calls it a 3 and 4. R calls it a 2 and 3. C buys it all for a 2.

But according to you and Blaithin. Nobody is trying to screw you.

Dockage here is .8% to 1.8%. 1% on $14 durum is .14.

There is a .40 to .50 drop from a 2 to a 3.

No I said it is lack of education. There is for sure elevators that will screw you but you have the right to watch and request a subject to if you don't agree.

Where do elevators get their training? It takes 4 years of training to become a qualified Grain Grader for the gov't and then you are constantly checked by superiors and do annual grading tests to make sure you are still accurate.

If there is a dockage difference on the same sample, what are they doing different? If same sample done the same way in two different locations using the same equipment you should get the same result.

If someone is doing it wrong tell them to do it the right way. It is kinda like letting someone else run your combine and they change the settings your going to stop them an make them set it right.

[Blaithin]

I think the frustrating thing for farmers are the grade variances between elevators. V calls it a 3 and 4. R calls it a 2 and 3. C buys it all for a 2.

But according to you and Blaithin. Nobody is trying to screw you.

Dockage here is .8% to 1.8%. 1% on $14 durum is .14.

There is a .40 to .50 drop from a 2 to a 3.

The graders aren’t trying to screw you.

Grading is/should be grading.

Buying is what’s different between elevators, mills, crush plants, etc.

I’ve never had a manager come to me and say call something a lower grade. However I’m always asked can we make a grain work as a better grade. If they offer the farm a deal as a higher grade to get the buy, can we make it fit in the specs we need to meet. With bin samples this is why they like to know tonnes. If it’s a tight paper blend we’ll even take representative amounts of each bin sample and mix it to see what we get.

I have worked at elevators where they tell you to plump up the dockage. Which is why I said pay attention to dockage more than grade. Splits is another one.

I’ve never worked at an elevator where the graders are privy to sales, prices, or deals. In no way are they trying to call a grade something lower to screw somebody. I can’t speak for what’s done with the information once it’s passed on to marketing, but typically what I’ve seen is an effort to make a deal. Other elevator graders could be trying to screw people, but it seems unlikely.

And yes, while improperly trained graders can lead to grade discrepancies, I’ve seen far more instances of farms getting a higher grade from this, than a harsher grade. Graders are more likely to miss something than pick something that isn’t there to downgrade.

[wmoebis]

Trust the grain graders, they have a 2 day course you don’t have…..

Some companies have way better training courses than others but there still needs to be a Universal/Certified apprenticeship type training. And yes I agree farmers should take a course also 2 days isn't enough tho.

[wmoebis]

Some companies have way better training courses than others but there still needs to be a Universal/Certified apprenticeship type training. And yes I agree farmers should take a course also 2 days isn't enough tho.

Years ago Alberta Wheat Pool, UGG and SWP (Farmer owned Grain Companies), all had a training course that were taught at Olds Collage and maybe others. When farmers decided to amalgamate and ultimately sell out to foreign companies that training was stopped and OLDS dropped the courses.

I have copies of all those courses and they were intensive training not just a couple days. So you can't blame the graders it wasn't them that stopped the training in fact the vast majority want to learn and be able to do it right and be good at it.

I don't think we understand the loss that doing away with inward inspection has had either. When CGC or 3rd party went onsite to grade cars so that port knew what was coming, the elevators could see first hand how to do it properly, they saw and were told when they missed something or were off on assessment that way they learnt from independent trained staff. I can't talk on 3rd party training but I do know that CGC inspectors have (had) good, intensive training and monitoring.

Know Your Grain!

[LEP]

Years ago Alberta Wheat Pool, UGG and SWP (Farmer owned Grain Companies), all had a training course that were taught at Olds Collage and maybe others. When farmers decided to amalgamate and ultimately sell out to foreign companies that training was stopped and OLDS dropped the courses.

I have copies of all those courses and they were intensive training not just a couple days. So you can't blame the graders it wasn't them that stopped the training in fact the vast majority want to learn and be able to do it right and be good at it.

I don't think we understand the loss that doing away with inward inspection has had either. When CGC or 3rd party went onsite to grade cars so that port knew what was coming, the elevators could see first hand how to do it properly, they saw and were told when they missed something or were off on assessment that way they learnt from independent trained staff. I can't talk on 3rd party training but I do know that CGC inspectors have (had) good, intensive training and monitoring.

Know Your Grain!

Everyone of the graders at the aforementioned companies have between 10 and 35 years experience. No newbies here.

I know from experience that SGS is far more well regarded internationally than CGC, in the special crop industry. Very inconsistent on lentil grading.

[wmoebis]

Dockage is what to be particular on if you’re concerned a company is stealing from you or a grade is wrong.

What is funny is, farmers or their representative will watch elevators weight the WRONG pans out of dockage tester, use the WRONG sieves and even write down the WRONG calculations and percentages but don't say a thing at the time, likely because they don't know the proper procedures or watch and check for accuracy or mistakes.

When they get different results there is a reason the % doesn't change the procedure has changed. If you do dockage assessment on the same sample it doesn't matter where it is done it will be the same result if you follow the prescribed manor each time.

It always made me smile when I would correct them doing something wrong they always came back OH! I must have made a mistake or Oh! I must have wrote it down wrong.

Know Your Grain also means Know how to Assess it properly. Food for thought!

[bucket]

What is funny is, farmers or their representative will watch elevators weight the WRONG pans out of dockage tester, use the WRONG sieves and even write down the WRONG calculations and percentages but don't say a thing at the time, likely because they don't know the proper procedures or watch and check for accuracy or mistakes.

When they get different results there is a reason the % doesn't change the procedure has changed. If you do dockage assessment on the same sample it doesn't matter where it is done it will be the same result if you follow the prescribed manor each time.

It always made me smile when I would correct them doing something wrong they always came back OH! I must have made a mistake or Oh! I must have wrote it down wrong.

Know Your Grain also means Know how to Assess it properly. Food for thought!

I watch them do some dockage tests during while I am hauling. I get a better idea of what I am doing wrong at certain times of the day or what has affected it. It helps me set the combine. If I think they are taking a little to much there are ways to even it out IYKYK.

[wmoebis]

I watch them do some dockage tests during while I am hauling. I get a better idea of what I am doing wrong at certain times of the day or what has affected it. It helps me set the combine. If I think they are taking a little to much there are ways to even it out IYKYK.

I remember once I was hauling Canola. I admit the dockage was very high, but I watched closely the grader do test and what the results were, Never said anything but when I went into the buyer office to get my check I said I would like to redo dockage, just so I could see what was all in it so I could maybe make changes to my combine or spray etc to try get it lower next year. Well he had grader redo it infront of us. To begin with he couldn't find 1% he said he must have wrote it down wrong then I told him he should use smaller slotted sieve he was taking too much broken, when he used proper sieve we lowered it another .5% so figure 1.5% on just one truck load now multiply that by your whole farm production.

Not sure if buyer gave grader issue after I left or not but sure got everyone in the building looking and listening, other farmers that were standing around and all the staff. LOL

[helmach]

Trust the grain graders, they have a 2 day course you don’t have…..

grain grading should become a standardized trade taught in trade schools, not a company wrote course based of the grading guidelines imo