The great Canadian Wheat Robbery

[furrowtickler]

How much #4 HRSW and some feed wheat is being delivered to elevators with cleaners and being shipped out as #3?
Probably all of it! Ripping off wheat producers up to $80/ac. We just got finnished cleaning 12,000 bus of wheat that we were told by several companies that it just did not quite have a chance to make a #3. Well guess what, we delivered it all as a good #3 after running it over just an old air and screen clipper cleaner and took out about 12%. That 12% was still 58lb. feed wheat. Thing is we still had to pay the cleaning charges!
The point is, do not let your local elevator con you into a #4 if they have a cleaner, this is pure b/s, it will be shipped as a #3 if the protien is there. The price difference is way too large to ignore this, do not let them steal your money, you are already paying the cleaning charges for them to do this.
Any one else "upgrading" there own wheat?

[furrowtickler]

BTW. there was no blending going on before it hit the elevator, afterwards who knows.

[wmoebis]

When you offer your sample of grain for sale it should be cleaned first. Every elevator has a carter dockage tester.Make them run the sample over the tester to clean the samples. They have to do this to asess the dockage anyway. Then there is cleaning they can do for grade improvement. This is all laid out in the canadian grain regulations. Watch how they set their machines. They have the right riddles and sieves and especially the air is set according to grain grading guide. Watch what pans they take to asess the clean grain.Some pans go back in the clean sample other wise they will be classed as dockage. They are good kernals just a little small for the sieve. Also remember it is % dockage make sure they weight the dockage not the clean grain when asessing % dockage. Any kernels that get hung up in the machine or accidentaly dropped on floor won't be in the sample and then would be taken off as dockage.

Same thing goes for the protien tester. Read the numbers yourself. Know what your protien is. Get a sample checked from the CGC. Run it through the elevator's tester see that they have it calibrated right.

I had Amber Duram on year that I knew was over 16% the elevator told me some numbers out of the air and offered me 13.5%. I walked back and read the machine myself it read16.3%.

Remember these companies are out to make thier bottom line look good. You have to know, what you have, and what they can and can't do according to the grain regulations.

[melvill]

furrowtickler, glad you brought this up. Generally in most of western Canada we get really good falls and, in my experience, too many (or most) producers are willing to take the elevator's word for grade and dockage. This year is a good learning year for growers - after this fewer producers will be willing to take an elevator's grade without questioning it. Unfortunately, however, after my experience at a producer meeting two weeks ago, I learned that not all are willing to challenge elevator grades.

[TOM4CWB]

mellvil;

With CWB Board wheat... there is simply no set rules on grading... especially once inland grades on cars are stopped.

Samples and method of sampling are key to getting a representitive lot that actually truly is an average of a specific lot of grain.

Harvesting low flat areas seperate that had sprouts can really change the outcome on a large lot of grain.

Any manager with wisdom would have a good feel for what the grade is on the day the combine harvests the feild... if they unload trucks and watch with a critical eye. That is our job. We must know what we have... sprout tolerances... damage, green, frost/drought damage, wheat midge damage, fusarium etc.... it is our job to know what the quality is BEFORE the combine finishes the first truck load.

If am manager of a grain farm does not know... see your CWB Business rep., and take a CIGI course and find out!

We have great tools to learn all about grading... if farmers care!

On upgrading... many farmers and grain companies in 2004-05 are using this extra cleaning step... at times it works... lots of times it does not!

There is simply not hard and fast criteria... just as weather varied from field to field... a fall like 2004 pays a manager big time for those who pay attention... and take the extra time to KNOW what they have in their bins!

[melvill]

Gee, Tom, I agree with everything you just said - and, if I thought about if for very long, that's is kinda scarey. Grin.

Again, it's surprising how many producers either don't know about the CGC grading service or don't seem too interested in using that as part of their negotiations with elevators. I've been trying to spread "the gospel" on that issue but, since the CGC lab in Lethbridge closed, some are not so anxious to send samples to Calgary. The same will apply when Edmonton's office closes.

But you're right. We must push for every opportunity we have. For example, I was in the Calgary CGC office when a producer came in with two samples of CPSR wheat. Both had been graded as feed at three different elevators. The Calgary CGC grader looked at them while I was there and graded each sample as #2. That producer then had something to negotiate with.

[wmoebis]

The reason farmers don't use the CGC anymore is a loss in faith. Partly due to the grain companies and partly due to the CGC.

The grain companies for so many years have been telling the farmers "Oh I would give you a 2 for it but the CGC says it's a three"

Farmers give a sample to the grain elevator and ask them to send it in for a grade check. The farmer thinks it's going to the CGC when in fact they send it to their head office. The sample comes back graded say a three and they mislead the farmer by saying things like "Wpg. said it is a three" farmers thinking WPG CGC.

The other thing is the CGC itself sets their rules in the intrest of producers. Their belief is that the grain companies represent the producer. At one time that may be the case not now however.

The CGC's mentality on the grain industry is that farmers are: a supplier to the industry. Well if it wern't for the farmer there would be no industry.

Cutting services at LETH. and Edmonton is a whole nother issue. I believe "get used to it" more is comming under this management.

[parsley]

Minot Grain Inspection Inc.
108 Valley Street
P.O. Box B
Minot, North Dakota 58702

Phone (701) 838-1734

Sample size One quart. they test protein, falling numbers etc. They are usually fast and quite reasonablly priced

Gives you another negotiation tool.
We've used them.
Parsley

[wmoebis]

parsley Have you ever compared results of the same sample for protien against CGC results.

Does the USA use the same calibration as we do?

I know that they use a different chart for moisture testing. What may be tough in Canada is dry in USA.

I always thought % of moisture was just that.

[Vader]

There used to be difference in protein measurement between Canada and US but I understand that is no longer the case.