Grain Journal - July/August 2008 - (Page 16) John Giler Interview A LOOK AT CURRENT INITIATIVES AT THE U.S. GRAIN QUALITY REGULATORY AGENCY The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) administers the U.S. Grain Standards Act through its Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS). The act sets official standards for U.S. grain and oilseed commodities. As such, GIPSA is the federal agency that regulates grain quality for the U.S. grain industry and works to ensure that exports meet those quality standards. Grain Journal early in July contacted John C. Giler, who has been GIPSA’s acting deputy administrator for FGIS since the beginning of April. to discuss current initiatives related to the grain standards and other areas that the agency addresses. EDITOR’S NOTE: GIPSA on July 9 announced the appointment of Randall Jones as permanent deputy administrator for FGIS, effective July 21. For more information, see page 32. Quality Standards Several activities are underway in the grain standards arena. Sorghum. On June 1, 2008, changes to the sorghum standards that were announced in 2007 went into effect. The revised standards will promote the marketing of higher-quality sorghum by describing the types of grain sorghum produced by U.S. farmers better and reducing the allowable levels of broken sorghum kernels and foreign material (FM) in the various quality grades of sorghum. GIPSA Acting Deputy Administrator John C. Giler “We continue to explore ways to measure the end-use functionality of wheat.” -John Giler, GIPSA Soybeans. In 2007, GIPSA published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) in the Federal Register seeking public comment on the effectiveness of the soybean standards. We asked for input on factors used in the current standards and grading procedures, whether changes in soybean processing practices and technology merited changes in the standards, and whether any other changes were needed to ensure that the standards remain relevant to market needs. The comments we received did not indicate a consensus on needed changes to the standards, so we are withdrawing the rulemaking and taking no action at this time. The one issue that merits further review is amending grading limits for soybean FM. Based on the lack of conResponse No. 161 16 GJ J/A http://www.molemaster.com http://www.molemaster.com
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