Depending on whom you ask, most people will say that grain quality reaches its peak at harvest.
Indeed, once it leaves the farm, the primary driver of grain quality evolves from its initial function of producing a quality crop to one of grain quality preservation.
While the role played by elevator operators and those who handle grain as it enters the marketing channel is vital to overall grain quality, the upfront work done by grain producers themselves has added a much-needed boost to reshaping our grain quality reputation.
“Certainly biotechnology coupled with innovative plant breeding strategies, cutting-edge precision crop protection and harvesting equipment, and advances in storage technologies have allowed producers to bring a higher quality crop to market,” says Tom Shanower, director, USDA Grain Marketing and Production Research Center (GMPRC), Manhattan, KS.-
