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 ANALYSIS or I'KOCKAMS 



STATE GRAIN INSPECTION LABORATORIES 



SERVICES PROVIDED . The Montana Grain Inspection Laboratory, 

 Division of the Montana Department of Agriculture, provides Grain 

 Grading, Protein Testing, Sedimentation Value and Official Weigh- 

 ing services to the grain industry. 



The quality of grain determined by grade and protein tests 

 is of vital importance to buyers and sellers. It is the basis 

 of price settlement between the two. Protein premiums based on 

 tenths of a percent are paid to the producer of high protein wheat. 

 The price is also based on the numerical grade of the grain with 

 discounts for various factors such as shrunken and broken kernels, 

 frost damage, sprout damage and other degrading factors. Other 

 degrading factors include those vital to consumer protection such 

 as: mercury treated wheat; rodent excreta; stones; musty; sour; 

 heating and commercially objectionable foreign odor such as fumi- 

 gants , pesticid.ing and skunk. Qualified personnel determine this 

 quality in an unbiased manner. 



The Great Falls office has personnel stationed at Harlowton, 

 Lewistown and Shelby. The employees at these towns perform official 

 weighing service for the Grain Terminals there. They also officially 

 sample box cars of grain and send the samples to Great Falls for 

 testing. 



Montana law provides that a protein test be made of all wheat 

 delivered to a grain warehouseman who shall take a sample from each 

 load of wheat delivered to his warehouse and preserve such sample 

 in an air-tight container with the ov\7ner's name thereon. A one 

 pint portion of the composite sample shall be sutmitted to the State 

 Grain Laboratory at Great Falls or Bozeman and the balance shall be 

 held in the owner's container. All tests determined by the state 

 laboratories retain the right to appeal. Many growers waive this 

 right to state protein test and appeal. The results are obtained 

 by the dealers or warehouseman's own laboratory. 



For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1970 there were approximately 

 20,500 official car inspections; 11,000 submitted samples for a 

 total of 31,500 grade inspections. 



During the year there were approximately 17,759 samples taken 

 from railroad car proteins, 24,700 protein samples taken from elevators, 

 etc., for a total of 42,450 protein tests - all without discrepancies. 



The workload included 2,500 malting barley analysis and 61 

 sedimentation tests. Also, 9,000 carloads of grain were officially 

 weighed in and out of the terminals at Great Falls, Shelby, 

 Lewistown and Harlowton, Montana. 



OBJECTIVE The Montana Grain Inspection Laboratory at Great Falls 

 is required by law to be self-supporting on a fee basis. Besides 

 being self-supporting, five percent of the gross revenue is 

 deposited to the state general fund. The laboratory at Harlowton 

 was closed October 1, 1959 because the expenditure exceeded the 

 fees. This resulted in a reduction of personnel there from four, 

 including two licensed grain inspectors, to a one-full time sampler- 

 weigher. The grading and protein testing along with the office 

 work involved is now done in Great Falls. 



