Summary:
The Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) seeks input from the Grain Inspection Advisory Committee regarding policy options that would standardize instructions for certifying protein, oil, and starch for wheat, barley, corn, and soybeans, specifically in cases when results are requested on an alternate moisture basis (MB) and certified on a grade certificate or separate certificate.
Background:
General Information
The analysis of protein, oil, and starch as "official criteria" is performed using a near-infrared transmittance (NIRT) instrument authorized under the United States Grains Standards Act (USGSA). While official testing is not mandatory, many export contracts include requirements for NIRT testing to be performed officially by FGIS or a capable official agency. NIRT instruments are programmed to provide results for wheat protein, barley protein, soybean protein and oil, and corn protein, oil, and starch based on a standard MB. The current standard MBs were established based on what were commonly used for trading purposes and are identified in the table below.
NIRT Standard Moisture Basis by Grain
| Grain | Wheat | Barley | Soybeans | Corn/th> |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard MB | 12% MB | Dry matter or 0% MB | 13% MB | Dry matter or 0% MB |
An applicant has the option to request results on an alternate MB. An alternate MB affords the applicant the option of using a specified moisture, As-Is moisture, or Dry Matter basis. For wheat, when the applicant requests the results on an alternate MB in addition to the standard MB, the results for both MB are reported in the “Results” section of the certificate. In addition to both results, a statement is included in the “Remarks” section of the certificate that defines the correlation between the two different MB results and identifies the alternate MB was provided at the request of the applicant. The current instructions allow barley, soybeans, and corn results to be requested on an alternate MB in addition to or instead of the standard MB. Similarly, when the applicant chooses the “in addition to” option, both the standard MB and alternate MB are reported on the certificate. The difference is when the “instead of” option is chosen, only the alternate MB result is reported on a certificate, and a “Remarks” section statement is not required in either instance. The reason for the difference between wheat and the other grains is in 2001, FGIS was asked by industry to establish an independent policy for wheat. The intent of the policy was to standardize wheat protein certification to increase transparency and eliminate the use of reporting practices that may be viewed as deceptive.
Alternate Moisture Basis Result Reporting
When an alternative MB is used to certify protein and oil, the certified result is dependent on the moisture level of the grain because the protein and oil content is inversely proportional to the moisture content. Consequently, when a moisture basis that is less than the standard MB is requested, the reported result on the alternate MB is higher than the result on the standard MB. Many contracts set requirements for the percentage of protein and/or oil results. As a result, an alternate MB is often requested to meet the contract requirements. Alternate MB is also requested for contracts where the receiver or buyer markets grain under a different MB than our standard MB. For these shipments, the requested alternate MB would be noted on the load order.
With respect to soybean protein, requests for As-Is MB account for a large percentage of these requests. As-Is is a type of alternate MB that is defined as the actual moisture percentage of the commodity using the FGIS moisture determination methods or FGIS-Approved instrumentation. As mentioned earlier the use of an alternate MB is used to report higher results and the same is true for the use of an As-Is MB. Since the moisture of most samples falls below the standard 13% MB, the results of the certified protein or oil will be higher. A major problem with reporting results using As-Is MB is, in most cases, the instructions have been misinterpreted and the actual verbiage “As-Is” is used on the certificate instead of stating the actual moisture percentage for the MB.
Certifying As-Is results on a separate certificate without including the official moisture or actual MB doesn’t provide the reader the required information to understand how the result was determined. In addition, and they are unable to normalize results for comparison with other lots or sublots. FGIS and other official service providers occasionally receive requests from applicants to change the MB (mostly to a lower MB) for certification after initial testing, with the goal to achieve a higher test result needed to meet contract specifications. This creates the false perception that the protein and oil levels have increased when the amount of protein and oil in the sample have remained unchanged.
In 2020, after numerous requests for clarification and upon reviewing instructions, FGIS determined that there was a need to update certification language to remove any confusion currently held and to promote value, integrity, and transparency in all NIRT certificate results. On July 16, 2020, FGIS published Policy Bulletin #283 standardizing all NIRT results be certified like wheat. On July 29, 2020, Policy Bulletin #283 was rescinded due to concerns from industry.
Rationale:
FGIS wants to enhance integrity, clarity, transparency, and consistency regarding the certification of NIRT protein results reported to customers. The practice of issuing a certificate on an As-Is MB, without providing a numerical value for the MB or the original moisture, can be misleading to the buyer and allows the seller to report a higher percentage of protein to meet contract requirements, when in reality, the protein content has not increased. The options below provide the needed context while additionally offering varying implementations designed to provide value, integrity, and transparency to certificate results.
Policy Options:
To promote value, integrity and transparency, FGIS has provided three options for consideration to alleviate current and future confusion with FGIS instructions regarding barley, corn and soybean NIRT results certification.
Option 1: Standardize all grade and separate certificate requirements for all grains to mirror current wheat requirements and prohibit use of the term ‘’As-Is’’ on official certificates.
- Results on the certificate.
- Standard Moisture Basis (MB) (referenced first on certificate)
- Alternate MB
Example:
Protein 34.6%, 13% MB; Protein 35.0%, 12% MB
- Require the certificate ‘Remarks’ section to contain a standard statement that equates the result at an alternate MB to the result at standard MB.
Example:
Protein 35.0%, 12% moisture basis, which equates to Protein 34.6%, 13% moisture basis. Protein content is reported on an alternate moisture basis in addition to the standard 13% moisture basis at the applicant’s request.
- Require all grade and separate certificates for As-Is certification of all grains to show the official moisture % determined by inspection, replacing the term “As-Is” in the result statement.
Example: The official sample moisture was 10.7% and the load order was for As-Is certification, the results would be certified on a 10.7% MB not As-Is MB.
Protein 35.9%, As-Is MB (No longer allowed) Protein 35.9%, 10.7% MB (Required)
- Reporting: When an alternate MB is requested, for inspection data reporting purposes, require the Standard MB result (taken from the NIRT device) to be entered in the factor result field but not shown on the certificate. Then enter both MB results in the factor remark field and show on the certificate. All necessary data for both MB will be available in IDW for FGIS to cross reference and verify results. (Note: Only the alternate MB result is entered in the factor remark field for Options 2 and 3.)
Option 2: Require all grade and separate certificates for As-Is certification of all grains to show the official moisture % determined by inspection to replace the term “As-Is” in the result statement. In addition, incorporate standardized reporting of results in IDW as identified in Option 1, section (d).
Example: The official sample moisture was 10.7% and the load order was for As-Is, the results would be certified to a 10.7% MB and not “As-Is”.
Protein 35.9%, As-Is MB (No longer allowed)
Protein 35.9%, 10.7% MB (Required)
Option 3: Continue to allow to use of the term “As-Is” to be used on the certificate but require the official moisture results be reported in the “Results” section of the separate certificate with the NIRT results. In addition, incorporate standardized reporting of results in IDW as identified in Option 1, section (d).
Example: The official sample moisture was 10.7% and the load order was for As-Is, the results would be certified to a 10.7% MB and not “As-Is”.
Moisture 10.7%
Protein 35.9%, As-Is MB
Further Considerations:
Base change – A topic that may be considered worthy of discussing with industry is the relevance of the standard 13% moisture basis. The earliest reference found regarding the use of the 13% basis as the standard dates to the 2001 version of the NIRT Handbook. If the industry believes that the 13% moisture basis does not accurately represent the average moisture content of U.S. soybeans, it may be advisable to recommend seeking public comments on this matter through the Federal Register. This would allow for a thorough review and potential revision of the standard moisture basis if such a change is warranted.