ABSTRACT
Grain grades, discounts, and complaints about poor quality have generated heated debate among farmers, exporters, importers, and government agencies. In an attempt to recover lost export volumes Congress has amended the US Grain Standards Act, mandated studies, held numerous hearings, and pressured industry to alter handling practices. The grain market approaches the requirement by providing buyers with a standardized product interchangeable in market transactions. The broad-based review of inspection procedures, a major rewriting of the Grain Standards Act, and creation of a separate agency to administer the act under the 1975 amendment failed to solve the problems cited in complaints of foreign buyers about accurate representation of grain quality. Grades and standards for all grains are based on numerical values for a set of factors selected to reflect the quality of each type of grain. Grain received at the export elevator arrives primarily by rail and barge.
