| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: Craig Essebaggers |
| July 28, 2006 | (406) 452-9561 |
State Grain Lab Finalizes Fee Structure
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — The State Grain Laboratory has implemented a new fee
structure to enable Montana's only federally licensed grain testing facility
to offer better service and more options for foreign and domestic customers.
The laboratory has added and expanded services and removed an additional charge
for some services, says Craig Essebaggers, the State Grain Laboratory bureau
chief for the Montana Department of Agriculture. Producers and grain elevators
no longer pay extra for information regarding the presence of damaged kernels,
foreign materials, shrunken and broken kernels and total defects.
Changes include a new test for gluten strength, called the Wet Gluten Test, used by some overseas customers along with more common protein testing to measure desirable baking characteristics.
Analysis for vomitoxin in wheat, malt and feed barley will now include quantitative reporting in parts per million, rather than simply reporting its presence in the sample.
The new fee schedule will list three different tests for malt barley germination. Different malting and brewing companies prefer different test procedures and, while all three tests were previously available, they were not listed as options in the laboratory's rates, Essebaggers said.
Notices are being sent to grain elevators regarding the changes. Additional information about the State Grain Lab can be obtained from Essebaggers at (406) 452-9561.
###
