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Facts for Farmers



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Facts for Farmers, 3 of a series

The CGC and quality assurance

Facts on quality assurance

False: Quality assurance is preventing you from growing high-yielding varieties

Canada's quality assurance system is a voluntary one. You can grow most kinds of grain or varieties for your own use. Yield may be your only quality consideration. But if you want to grow grain to reap the benefits of Canada's quality reputation, you will choose grain classes and varieties that have been evaluated and approved for Canada's quality assurance system.

In most cases, approved varieties mean registered varieties eligible for Canada's grading system. Breeders work hard to develop varieties that perform well in your fields and in customers' products. The CGC reviews and evaluates breeders' new lines for their fit within the grading system and the handling system, and for end-use quality from the perspective of domestic and international buyers. Customers rely on these features of Canada's quality assurance system. The CGC's involvement in variety registration is just one of many things we do for quality assurance of the grain you grow.

False: Quality assurance is checking the quality of Canadian grain after it's loaded on the boat

Canadian grain shipped from licensed terminal elevators is sampled continuously, and graded and tested at regular intervals by CGC staff during the loading of export shipments. These incremental loading samples are evaluated for cleanliness and grading factors including grain class, condition, foreign material, test weight, moisture and protein content. This process assures not only that an average of samples taken from the cargo meets the grade and customer's specifications, but also that the cargo is uniform throughout, in every hold of the ship, or in every hopper car of the train.

Uniformity within the cargo and consistency between different shipments are among the top reasons customers buy Canadian grain. But it is a long journey from your bin to their boat. Quality assurance is the major reason the quality in the grain you grow gets there safely and intact.

Summing up

There are many misconceptions about quality assurance. It has become a fashionable business slogan, much advertised but not well understood. At the CGC, quality assurance is not a fashion; it's a tradition. It wasn't called quality assurance back in 1912. But ever since the CGC was established, we have worked to safeguard and strengthen Canada's reputation for quality.

The CGC is the impartial government department that makes sure the quality of the grain you grow will maintain Canada's reputation. Our involvement in quality assurance makes sure the registered varieties you seed are evaluated for the quality the customer wants. The CGC ensures your grain is fairly and consistently graded. We ensure that customers get the quality they ordered in every tonne of every shipment.


Want to know more?

Call: 1-800-853-6705
Fax: 1-204-983-2751
Email: contact@grainscanada.gc.ca


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Last updated: 2002-04-15

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