Harvest Quality

1927 Protein Survey

Annual report by Mr. J.D. Fraser,
Chief Grain Inspector for the crop year ending July 31, 1928

Western Inspection Division

The crop of the year 1927 was the third largest produced in the Western Inspection Division, being surpassed only by the crop of 1915 by 769 cars, and by the crop of 1923 by 3,452 cars.

The ripening and harvesting of the crop was much later than usual, and while the cutting was practically all completed during September, the harvesting and threshing operations were frequently and seriously delayed during September and the first part of October by rain and snow, which not only delayed operations but caused a very large proportion of the crop to be graded as No Grade Tough or Damp, on account of excess moisture. Better weather conditions during the later part of October, dried out much of the grain and substantially reduced the proportion of tough and damp grain. About 75 per cent of the threshing was completed by the end of October. Rain and snow during November made it impossible to complete the threshing before winter set in, with the consequence that quite a large quantity of grain had to be left in stook in the fields and threshed in the spring of 1928. Rust in Manitoba and parts of Saskatchewan, and frost in parts of Saskatchewan and Alberta, together with excess moisture, materially lowered the quality and grade of a very large proportion of the crop of 1927.

The total inspections for the crop year of 1927-28 in the Western Division, amounted to 353,253 cars, as against 305,903 cars for the previous year.

From the Annual Report of the Board of Grain Commissioners for Canada for the Crop Year Ended August 31, 1928

Canadian Grain Commission's 1927 Protein Survey Map of Western Canada