Dear Colleagues,

I hope this letter finds everyone well, having a great harvest and staying busy. I wanted to recap some of the things your board of directors has been doing to promote and protect your interests as a member of this association.

As each of you knows by now, we have contracted with Petersen Consulting, LLC, for the services of Bob Petersen as a liaison with various grain industry groups, as well as GIPSA officials. Bob brings to the table a long list of credentials, experience and contacts which should serve our association well. We have completed one contractual cycle with Mr. Petersen and during our September board meeting voted unanimously to continue our agreement through May, 2008.

To back up a little bit, your Board first reviewed the association’s overall direction and concluded that there really were neither particular goals for where the association was headed nor any idea of what it hoped to achieve in any area. It seemed as though the only purpose the association was serving was to have an annual meeting in Las Vegas, but not too much past that.

It was with this in mind, that the Board met with Mr. Petersen in March to interview him and listen to his ideas on improving the association to better serve everyone’s interests.

Since last year’s Annual Meeting, AAGIWA has made strides to become more involved with issues regarding GIPSA and the transition to the central lab concept. We were provided the opportunity to have input into the formulation of many of the JAD (Joint Application Development) projects including licensing, equipment check testing and IDW development.

In a recent meeting with GIPSA Deputy Administrator Dave Shipman, AAGIWA members were able to express to Mr. Shipman many of the concerns the official inspection system has regarding the following issues:

• Phytosanitary inspections
• IDW implementation time table
• Quality Management System
• New staffing assignments regarding GIPSA personnel

The meeting with Mr. Shipman was very positive and he vowed to address our concerns and work with us to achieve a common goal.

Another accomplishment that I hope you have noticed is a more aggressive effort to communicate with members on issues that affect your agencies. The AAGIWA website is being rebuilt so to speak and, if you haven’t visited it in awhile, I wish you would take a few moments and take a look at it. There is still work to be done, but it is looking better each day. The website is www.aagiwa.org, take a look and let me know what you think.

Other notable achievements we have made so far are:

• Prepared a strategic plan for the association
• Preparing a budget for AAGIWA, which has never occurred in the past
• Issued comments to GIPSA on DDG standards for the ethanol industry
• Provided input into the “Camera-on-a-stick” project
• Addressed member concerns regarding stowage examinations
• Created a brochure for everyone to use in promoting their businesses

These items are only the beginning of what we hope will become a “new” AAGIWA which will continue to improve our representation of all our members. Certainly, we are doing a better job of communicating with GIPSA and I am positive that our relationship with them will improve even further.

Last, but not least, I hope that each of you are able to attend the annual meeting, which is being held later in the year and at a different location. This decision was made in response to our member survey which indicated most of you are ready for a change. I feel we as an organization can have a very positive impact on our future as official service providers to our customers, as well as the official inspection system. I, as always, welcome your input and suggestions at any time. Please let me know if there is something we can be of assistance with.

Sincerely,
Larry Kitchen, President
AAGIWA
Larry.kitchen@mda.mo.gov
larry_kitchen@sbcglobal.net

Areas of the upper Midwest -- northwest Iowa, southeast South Dakota, and southwest Minnesota – are seeing their highest levels of aflatoxin in 10 years, according to Tom Dahl, manager, Sioux City Inspection and Weighing Services. Dahl said for October his agency had already run 900 some aflatoxin tests by October 24 and said it wasn’t uncommon to see aflatoxin levels around 75 parts per billion (ppb). He said around threefourths of all samples are showing some level of aflatoxin present.

Aflatoxin is also showing up in samples of distillers dried grains (DDGs) produced as an ethanol co-product with corn from the region, Dahl said.

A survey conducted by Biomin showed that all tested samples of DDGs were contaminated with at least one mycotoxin. The survey showed:

• 92 percent of the samples contained some level of zearalenone (ZON)
• 64 percent of the samples contained some level of deoxynivalenol (DON or vomitoxin)
• 87 percent of the samples contained some level of fumonisins
• 8 percent of the samples contained some level of aflatoxin

The average levels present were, 0.3 ppm of zearalenone, 2.13 ppm DON, and 0.6 ppm fumonisin. Research has shown that the process of converting corn to ethanol can concentrate the amount of mycotoxins present in DDGs. Patricia Jackson with VICAM said the study results illustrate the importance of testing DDGs before use as an animal feed. The study was composed of 103 samples from Asia and the United States with two-thirds of the samples from the U.S. For further information see the September 27 issue of All About Feed at www.allaboutfeed.net.

FOSS, DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred, Monsanto and others announced October 31 a collaboration to deliver an industry-standard calibration system for low linolenic soybeans. The calibration is used in near infrared grain analyzers and allows grain processors to use real-time data to distinguish low linolenic soybeans from commodity soybeans. It benefits farmers who earn premiums for growing low linolenic soybeans and food companies who use low linolenic soybean oil to help meet increasing consumer demand for foods with reduced trans fats. As part of the collaboration, Pioneer, Monsanto and others contributed data to the FOSS-developed calibration and conducted performance testing and verification on the resulting calibration. The low linolenic soybean calibration is now available from FOSS and can be used with FOSS Infratec 1241 Grain Analyzers, which is the leading analytical tool used globally for analysis of all types of grain for different components such as moisture, protein, oil, etc. The low linolenic acid calibration can be packaged with other calibrations currently available from FOSS. For further details, contact Mark Host with FOSS at (800) 547-6275.

This Issue of Chaff is brought to you by R-Biopharm

R-Biopharm develops, manufactures and markets rapid enzyme immunoassays for the detection of residues in food and feed.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration recently awarded RBiopharm the contract for vomitoxin (deoxynivalenol) testing. The award calls for exclusive use of R-Biopharm’s RIDASCREEN®FAST DON SC test kit at all GIPSA laboratory locations. The RIDASCREEN®FAST DON SC is a new test format which only requires the use of a single standard, thus reducing your cost per sample and time required to perform a single analysis.

R-Biopharm currently has GIPSA approved test kits for Aflatoxin, Vomitoxin, Fumonisin and Zearalenone. DDGS is now a validated commodity on the Aflatoxin SC test kit. For more information please contact R-Biopharm at (877) 789-3033 or visit their website at www.r-biopharm.com.

Syngenta’s Agrisure® RW Corn biotech trait received full regulatory approval from Japan on August 24 and from Mexico on October 8, 2007, according to Paul Bertels, director of biotechnology and economic analysis, National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). He pointed out the trait approved is the single trait – the Agrisure® RW MIR 604 corn trait. The Japanese government is also expected to “soon” approve the double-stacked traits which include the Agrisure® MIR 604 trait.

With the increasing number of corn hybrids developed using biotech traits, NCGA has developed a section on its web site (www.ncga.com) detailing the regulatory status of these hybrids.)

David Shipman, deputy administrator of the USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration, briefed AAGIWA members on current issues at a session held October 18 in Kansas City. Key discussion items included the following:

• Phytosanitary inspections procedures – GIPSA understands the inherent differences between APHIS sampling standards and GIPSA sampling standards. GIPSA will be working with APHIS on these issues, including the need for uniform sampling procedures.
• Quality Management System – Mr. Shipman listened to member concerns about the burdensome nature of the QMS process and said he would further look into some aspects of the program.
• Information Data Warehouse – the goal remains to have the IDW operational by January 1.
• New GIPSA staff assignments – GIPSA continues to centralize its oversight in Kansas City. Two units of the Field Management Division are now based in Kansas City: (1) the Quality Assurance and Control Staff which is headed by Diane Palecek and (2) Field Operations and Support Staff which is headed by Ken Critchfield. The building housing the GIPSA Technical Center is being enlarged and should be complete by August 2008. The new facility will be known as the National Grain Center and will house the Technical Services Division as well as some units of the Field Management Division.

AAGIWA President Larry Kitchen thanked Mr. Shipman for his willingness to discuss issues of concern. Mr. Shipman indicated this could be an ongoing dialog of benefit to both AAGIWA and GIPSA.

AAGIWA President Larry Kitchen has announced the Board of Directors will meet Tuesday afternoon, November 27, 2007, which is just prior to GIPSA’s Advisory Committee Meeting. Topics will include those recently presented to GIPSA Deputy Administrator Dave Shipman at the briefing in Kansas City. The AAGIWA Board Meeting presents a forum for discussion regarding issues that are important to members, such as the new Quality Management System. GIPSA’s Advisory Committee Meeting is scheduled for November 28-29. All AAGIWA members are welcome to attend the Board meeting.

Meeting time and location: The Westin Tabor Center, Denver, Colorado, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on November 27. The preliminary agenda includes these items:

1. Call to order.
2. Consider the minutes of the previous meeting.
3. Treasurer’s Report.
4. President’s Report – a report from Mr. Kitchen on current issues.
5. Report from Bob Petersen on current matters.
6. May 2008 meeting plans.
7. Report on the nomination process for the coming year.
8. Update on current GIPSA issues, Administrator James Link (invited).
9. Discussion of new initiatives, such as the concept of developing a QMS template manual.
10. Potential bylaw revisions
11. Discussion of plan to contact ethanol industry about standards for distillers dried grains (DDGs) Suggestions for additions or deletions to the agenda are welcome.

Suggestions for additions or deletions to the agenda are welcome.

The Board of Directors has approved setting the 2008 Annual meeting for Sunday, April 27 through Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at The Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City. The meeting with begin with an opening reception from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 27 and will wrap-up with the annual banquet on Tuesday evening, April 29. The Board will hold a concluding meeting on Wednesday morning, April 30.

Editors Note: this article is reprinted from the October 29, 2007 newsletter of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition. We thought it presented an interesting summary of the current situation for container shipments.)

A member of the AgTC, who wishes to remain anonymous, shared the following message with their team on the current situation for container shipments.

"In short, space and equipment in the US are very tight, especially in and near the big agproducing states of the US. The situation is expected to continue and in fact will likely worsen for the next six months, so you should be aware of the risks and seek to manage them.

Why is there a shortage of space and equipment?

• Low dollar is driving demand for US exports generally.
• High bulk vessel rates are making containers an extremely attractive alternative for bulk products (ag and wastes), which ship in huge volumes.
• US imports are down slightly as a result of uncertainty about the US economic outlook.
• Steamship lines have not succeeded in passing their rail rate increases on to shippers, so steamship lines are incenting importers to terminate their containers at the ports, so more importers are transferring the cargo to domestic equipment instead of bringing ocean containers inland. Compounding this Maersk, the largest carrier, has completely dropped service to 1/3rd of the US interior due to high rail costs.
• Many ag exporters are "street turning" equipment whereby an import container is taken directly to an exporter for loading without entering steamship line inventory at all.
• Some rogue shippers are using unethical business practices to get more than their fair share of space and equipment.
• The situation is worst in the ag states because they export high volumes and fewer import loads come into those areas; however, as the situation worsens in ag states, ag shippers are moving their goods to non-traditional places such as Los Angeles, Atlanta, Memphis, New York, Norfolk, and others to obtain space and equipment. Outside the farm states, scrap metal and paper volumes are also quickly growing on the back of high ocean freight.

We are in import peak season right now. Early November will see a steady decrease in import volumes just as the traditional US cotton export peak hits. Import volumes generally remain low through Chinese New Year (early February this year). So we don't see the situation getting any better soon."

AAGIWA sends its congratulations to these agencies and their managers for their redesignation which GIPSA announced on September 4:

• Amarillo Grain Exchange, Cash Burris, official agency manager
• Cairo Grain Inspection Agency, Inc., Keith Fronabarger, official agency manager
• Louisiana Department of Agriculture, and Forestry, Terrel Castille, Agriculture Assistant Director
• North Carolina Department of Agriculture, Ben Honeycutt, Program Administrator
• D.R. Schaal Agency, Inc., Lewis Schaal, official agency manager

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.