AAGIWA Secretary-Treasurer Dave Reeder reports that sign-up for the Association's annual meeting April 27-29 in Kansas City is as strong as he can remember. Reeder said over 90 members, FGIS personnel, speakers, and others have registered for the annual event, with many taking advantage of the early-bird registration discount. Reeder said he fully expects the final turn-out to reach 100.

The Annual meeting program features three nationally-recognized figures in the grain industry:

• Roger Fray, executive vice president, grain, and director of operations, West Central, Ralston, Iowa;
• Bill Hudson, founder, The ProExporter Network® (PRX), Olathe, Kansas; and
• Ken McCauley, chairman, National Corn Growers Association, White Cloud, Kansas.

Hotel accommodations could be tight. AAGIWA members are strongly encouraged to make their hotel room reservations promptly. The association has reserved only a limited number of rooms at the preferred room rate and that block of rooms expires on April 7.

President Larry Kitchen noted that the strong meeting sign up is gratifying.

"We have made a number of changes in AAGIWA this year, not the least of which was changing our long-standing practice of holding the annual meeting in Las Vegas. You hate to mess with success, but a number of AAGIWA members felt the Las Vegas location was growing stale and not well situated for many agencies. The Association Board is looking forward to greeting a record number of attendees for recent years in just a few weeks. The overall goal of the Board of Directors is to re-invigorate AAGIWA to be a stronger voice for official agencies. This type of sign-up tells me the Association members are supporting this course of action and want to see AAGIWA succeed."

Kitchen also recognized a number of Associate Members who have already stepped forward to pledge their support by sponsoring key meeting functions, allowing the association to keep the registration fees to members as low as possible. Those Associate Members who have already agreed to sponsor meeting events are:

• AgTrax Technologies
• Neogen
• R-Biopharm
• Seedburo Equipment Company
• Vicam (Waters Corporation)

In addition, a number of these sponsors are pledging door prizes for the event, including Charm Sciences. For the opening reception on Sunday night, AAGIWA has invited a number of guests from the grain industry in the Kansas City area.

Kitchen also thanked Tom Meyer, president, Kansas Grain Inspection Services, for his initiative in lining-up an opportunity for AAGIWA members to sign-up for a USDA's eAuthentication Account which is necessary to participate in the new FGIS online programs. Diane Palecek and Janine Goodson, Field Operations and Support Staff, Field Management Division, FGIS, will be on hand for the annual meeting and available to help AAGIWA members with this process.

AAGIWA President Larry Kitchen reports the Quality Management Program (QMP) Review Team, composed of AAGIWA and FGIS representatives, is making good, constructive progress on recommendations to FGIS management for a common template that all agencies could use in designing their quality manuals. The Review Team briefed FGIS Deputy Administrator Dave Shipman on March 31 who expressed appreciation for their work. Based upon feedback from that briefing, the Team will engage in further discussion in order to develop a comprehensive proposal on what should be included in each official service provider�s quality management plan that meets the needs of the official inspection system. The QM Team is planning to present its recommendations to the AAGIWA membership during the upcoming annual meeting.

An excellent delegation of AAGIWA members attended the farewell reception for outgoing FGIS Deputy Administrator David Shipman on Wednesday, April 2, 2008, in Washington, DC. AAGIWA members and Board members in attendance included: Larry Kitchen, Missouri Department of Agriculture (AAGIWA President); Mark Fulmer, Lincoln Inspection Service (AAGIWA Vice President); Tom Dahl, Sioux City Grain Inspection and Weighing (AAGIWA Immediate Past President); Dave Ayers, Champaign-Danville Grain Inspection Departments (AAGIWA Board Member); and Tom Meyer, Kansas Grain Inspection Service.

Shipman is leaving the Agency, after 14 years as FGIS Deputy Administrator, to become associate administrator of USDA�s Agricultural Marketing Service. John Giler has been named to serve on an interim basis as the FGIS Deputy Administrator.

FGIS Redesignation Activity

On March 3, USDA�s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) announced actions on designations to officially inspect and weigh grain in specified areas in Arizona, California, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Texas.

• GIPSA is seeking applicants to provide official services, or comments about current service providers, in Aberdeen, South Dakota; Decatur, Illinois; Fulton, Illinois; Hastings, Nebraska; and Missouri and South Carolina areas. Applications and comments were due at GIPSA by April 2, 2008.
  
  
• GIPSA designated J. W. Barton Grain Inspection Service, Inc.; California Agri Inspection Company, Ltd.; Central Illinois Grain Inspection, Inc.; Central Iowa Grain Inspection Service, Inc.; Enid Grain Inspection Company, Inc.; Farwell Commodity and Grain Services, Inc.; North Dakota Grain Inspection Service, Inc.; Northern Plains Grain Inspection Service, Inc.; and Plainview Grain Inspection and Weighing Service, Inc. to inspect or inspect and weigh grain from April 1, 2008, through March 31, 2011.

On March 26, 2008, GIPSA announced the following actions on designations to officially inspect and weigh grain in specified areas in Iowa, Minnesota, and Texas. GIPSA is asking for comments on those who have applied to provide official services in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, area, which is comprised of northeast Iowa, southeast Minnesota, and east Texas. The applicants are Gulf Country Inspection Service, Inc., which applied for the entire Cedar Rapids, Iowa area; South Texas Grain Inspection, LLC, which applied for the east Texas portion of the region; and Mid-Iowa Grain Inspection, Inc., which applied for their current designation in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Comments are due by April 25, 2008.

Meeting March 26-28 in Scottsdale, Arizona, members of the National Grain and Feed Association discussed the association's priorities for the coming year. These are joint priorities with the North American Export Grain Association (NAEGA). The following are items excerpted from the list of priorities presented at the meeting:

The NGFA and NAEGA continue to advocate policies that maintain the viability and value of the U.S. official system of grain-quality measurement addressed primarily in the U.S. Grain Standards Act.

• Independent Third-Party Inspections with Government Oversight at Export:
  The NGFA and NAEGA will continue to work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) to expand its implementation of the directive outlined during congressional reauthorization of the U.S. Grain Standards Act in 2005, under which the agency has contracted with independent third parties to provide official inspection and weighing services at export elevators under 100 percent federal government oversight. This step is needed to reduce the ever-increasing costs of official inspections at export locations, which represent the largest uncontrollable fixed cost faced by U.S. grain exporters. NGFA and NAEGA will determine the next step in addressing the issue after reviewing GIPSA's economic evaluation of the third-party inspection program, scheduled to be completed in summer 2008.
  
  
• U.S. Soybean Standards: The NGFA and NAEGA support the existing U.S. soybean standards, which provide a base set of grade descriptions that allow the marketplace to maintain great efficiency in marketing and delivering U.S. soybeans to domestic and global customers. We oppose attempts to amend the standard, particularly the provisions on foreign material. We also will monitor GIPSA�s plans in 2008 to collect data through the sampling and grading of soybeans at the first point of sale to determine what, if any, changes to the soybean standards might be warranted.
  
  
• Federal Funding for GIPSA Standardization Activities: The NGFA and NAEGA continue to oppose attempts to assess approximately $4 million to $6 million annually in new user fees on grain exporters to finance USDA/GIPSA activities that maintain U.S. grain standards. These activities benefit a wide range of users � including farmers and consumers � and such a user fee would represent an inequitable tax on bulk grain exports, thereby further reducing U.S. competitiveness in commodities subject to official inspections.
  
  
• Rolling Stock Fall Protection: The NGFA will be engaged actively as OSHA�s Directorate of Standards and Directorate of Enforcement Programs evaluate whether to develop a directive clarifying the agency�s 1996 policy on rolling stock fall protection. In addition, the agency is drafting a revised version of its standards on slips and falls in the workplace [1910 Subpart D, Walking and Working Surfaces], which could potentially address rolling stock fall protection. The proposed rule is expected to be completed by spring 2008.
  

Feedstuffs reported in its March 24 issue on a recent study by Biomin and Romer Laboratories of grain samples which finds a fairly common presence of mycotoxins in grains, although typically at relatively low levels. In the case of corn, the study found that 32 percent of the samples tested positive for aflatoxin and 78 percent tested positive for Fumonisin. A table from the article is re-printed at right.

In a Program Notice released on March 3, FGIS announced it would provide, upon request, Falling Number (FN) test results on a U.S. Grain Standards Act (USGSA) certificate. The FN test has historically been offered under the U.S. Agricultural Marketing Act (AMA) with the results reported on a commodity inspection certificate. AAGIWA Board Member Randy Deike, Washington State Grain Inspection Program Manager, applauded the FGIS policy change and said this step by FGIS would simplify the process for many exporters in obtaining FN tests.

AAGIWA Board Member David Ayers, Champaign-Danville Grain Inspection Departments, has been participating in the FGIS joint application development (JAD) sessions on quality assurance control (QAC) and equipment JADs. For the QAC JAD, Ayers reports the group has reached the final phase of reviewing the programing guidelines for the QAC program. The group has also covered all methods of sample selection, guidelines for office performing/selecting supervision samples, report entry and generation, and protocol for submission of samples selected. The group is now in the process of final document review prior to submission to GIPSA management for their approval.

Ayers said the equipment JAD is in the final stages. The group has completed program testing and is now correcting problems found during this testing of program. He said he was unsure of the time frame for release and use by official agencies for the web submittal of equipment testing results via Internet.

AAGIWA Secretary-Treasurer Dave Reeder reports the association continues to pick up new members and that nearly all existing members have now renewed their membership for 2008.

AAGIWA is very pleased to welcome these new members:

• D.R. Schaal Agency, Belmond, Iowa. Lewis Schaal, president and official agency manager.
• State Grain Inspection, with offices in Savage and Mankato, Minnesota. Steve Duea is president and Darryl Bellin is the official agency manager.
• Gamet Manufacturing is a new associate member. The firm designs, engineers, and manufactures sampling equipment. Mark Olson will represent the company in AAGIWA activities.

AAGIWA is also pleased to welcome back these renewing members:

• Grain Inspection, Inc., Jamestown, North Dakota. Jack Trautman is the official agency manager.
• Columbus Grain Inspection, Circleville, Ohio. Ray Anderson is president and official agency manager.
• Mid-Iowa Grain Inspection, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Tom Sloan is the official agency manager.
• R-Biopharm as an associate member. Kurt Johnson is the firm's AAGIWA representative.

R-Biopharm is pleased to announce two new test formats and hardware, specifically designed to simplify mycotoxin testing for the grain inspector. RIDASCREEN® FAST DON SC and RIDASCREEN® FAST Zearalenone SC are newly approved by GIPSA, and round out the company's line of already approved kits for Aflatoxin, DON (Vomitoxin), and Fumonisin. Both kits require only one standard to be run with up to 15 samples at a time, drastically reducing output time while maximizing kit economy. Single sample runs benefit dramatically from the single control format, using only two test wells versus six with a traditional standard curve- a 66% savings of time and supplies

Also newly available is a hardware upgrade, provided free of charge to customers, which allows for sample calculations to be performed directly by the reader for single control formats. Now it is no longer necessary to use computer software to calculate results, as previously required with SC kits. The user can now receive sample results in one easy step, significantly cutting down on time and streamlining sample throughput. Please contact R�]Biopharm, Inc. at 877�]789�]3033 or visit www.r�]biopharm.com for more information.

AAGIWA welcomes member information about new products, business changes, personnel changes and other items that may be of interest to AAGIWA members. Please let us know what is new in your business. Send your information to: bob.petersen@aagiwa.org.

Looking for a way to move that used equipment you are no longer using? Place an ad in Chaff . the most well�]targeted publication for used inspection equipment. The advertising cost for members begins at $100. Ads for the April issue must be submitted by March 25th. Those ads should be sent to Bob Petersen at bob.petersen@aagiwa.org.

AAGIWA is now booking sponsors for future issues of Chaff. Chaff can present your company with a unique opportunity to hit a very targeted audience of key executives in a venue that has strong readership in the agriculture industry. It is an excellent marketing opportunity � contact Bob Petersen for further information at bob.petersen@aagiwa.org.