Soybean grading clinic
Aug 13, 2009 9:51 AM
The last of four soybean grading clinics will be held Aug. 18 at the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center, 5421 Hwy., 145 South, Verona, Miss. The clinics provide hands-on training and education for elevator inspectors on the grading process for Mississippi soybean.
According to Mississippi Extension soybean specialist Trey Koger, the morning session will include one-on-one training by federally-licensed staff from the Memphis Grain Inspection office.
In the afternoon, emphasis will shift to educating producers, county agents and other interested individuals on how the grading process is conducted. This session will be open to the public.
The clinics were created in part because of increasing soybean acreage in the state, as well as variability in grading observed by producers “often in one truckload,” Koger said. “While there’s always intrinsic variability and variability in the human eye in grading, the inspection clinics are designed to make grading more uniform across the state.”
With increasing acreage of soybeans, inspectors often have to make quick decisions that are often subjective in nature. “There are truckloads of corn and soybeans coming in and lines are backing up, but inspectors don’t have a tremendous amount of time to spend on samples.”
Weather can also play a huge role in the inspection results. “Mother Nature can deal us a harsh blow by causing significant damage to soybean through late season rain or extreme heat during seed fill just to name a couple of environmental factors that can impact soybean seed quality,” Koger said.
The clinic for elevator inspectors will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at 11:30 a.m. Lunch will be provided followed by the afternoon session from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. For more information call Koger at (662) 207-1604. Participation is free for all sessions.
The clinic is sponsored by the Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board, Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation, Delta Council, Mississippi Soybean Association and Mississippi State University Extension Service.
