The value of a load of canola delivered to an elevator can vary by a few hundred dollars depending on the sieve used by the elevator to determine dockage.
According to the Official Grain Grading Guide, an elevator can choose between five different slotted sieves, with slots ranging in size from 0.028 to 0.040 of an inch.
As Judy Elias, operations supervisor at the Canadian Grain Commission’s service centre in Weyburn, demonstrates in this Canola School, a dockage determination with a 0.040 sieve will generally be higher than with a 0.028 sieve.
“It can take out more small canola and more broken canola than needs to be taken out. That could be dockage that shouldn’t be included,” she explains.
Check out the entire Canola School archive here
Elias recommends having grain graded before delivering it to have an idea of what to expect for dockage at the elevator. If a producer disagrees with their dockage determination, they can have a sample sent to the Canadian Grain Commission for a binding third-party opinion.
“Your best bet if you don’t think that it’s fair dockage, you should ask for a ‘subject to inspector’s grade and dockage.’ The elevator will send a sample of your load in and we’ll analyze it. Whatever we determine will be how you will be paid,” notes Elias.
Related articles on canola quality:
- Canola School: Bin Sensors are the Best Way to Monitor Stored Crop, but They’re not Perfect
- Canola School: Does Your Canola Pass the Smell Test? Reports of Heated Canola Rise
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | All Podcasts
