Grain testing lab to debut with 2016 wheat crop

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

by SUSAN MANN

Ontario is getting a “first of its kind” grain quality testing facility, thanks to a joint venture between Grain Farmers of Ontario and SGS Canada Inc., an inspection and testing services provider for the agricultural industry.

The Ontario Grains Laboratory will be ready to function for the 2016 wheat harvest, says Nicole Mackellar, Grain Farmers of Ontario market development manager. It will be a full analytical testing facility for cereal crops, set up within the existing SGS Canada testing facility in Guelph.

Mackellar says the lab will be capable of “doing a full suite of quality testing,” including specific tests to provide quality information on both the wheat and the flour.

“Those tests are used by millers and end-use companies to give them an understanding of what kind of flour blend they’re going to end up with and what kind of dough they’d be able to make from that flour.”

The testing will enable Grain Farmers to get all of the quality parameters “that are needed in order for us to better position our wheat as an opportunity both domestically and internationally,” she says. “We feel like it’s going to open up new marketing opportunities for our members.”

Grain Farmers and SGS Canada signed the joint venture agreement in December.

Mackellar says Grain Farmers isn’t releasing the amount of money the organization has committed to providing for equipment costs in the lab.

In exchange for its financial contribution, Grain Farmers is getting a credit for lab services. The credit will be used for the annual Ontario wheat quality scoop report, along with other market development and research projects.

As part of the wheat quality scoop, Grain Farmers collects samples from grain elevators across Ontario during harvest and has them tested and analyzed.

The organization uses the analysis to compile a quality report that gives industry a “snapshot of what the quality is that is coming out of that wheat crop for that harvest year,” she says. “We are looking into potentially doing that for some of the other crops.”

In addition to wheat, the lab will be able to test other cereal crops, such as barley and oats. And it will be capable of testing individual farmers’ grain samples and provide information on things like protein and moisture levels.

Farmers will have to pay for that service. But it may be cheaper for farmers to have the testing done in Ontario because currently they must send their samples to labs in Western Canada.

Mackellar says the lab will also offer full commercial services for Ontario, Canadian and North American millers and processors. BF