World Grain - November 2016 - 88

GrainCorp CEO Mark Palmquist visits one of the company's facilities in the Wyalong area of New South Wales.

on the water when cooked and served.
It is in this product that GrainCorp is
seeking to embed itself to create more
opportunity for the grower and its food
processing customers by facilitating the
necessary standards and traceability that
arise from selling a premium product.
Palmquist explained that part of this
premium product offering is allowing
customers to look across the entire supply chain to the paddock so they know
where the grain was produced, what
variety it is and even what inputs were
used in production.
This deep understanding requires
close connections across all stakeholders in the supply chain.
He said the opportunity for GrainCorp
was in the company being able to draw
on its relationships with growers and
processors to create an integrated and
traceable network that would allow a
consumer to scan a product's QR code
and see where the grain was produced
and who produced it.
Using malt barley as an example,
Palmquist said maltsters who wanted to
malt barley in a particular way need to
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using is the right variety to achieve the
characteristics they are trying to create
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Coupled with this opportunity is the
need for growers to think of their grain
not just as a commodity but a food in88

gredient, and there will be opportunities
for GrainCorp to work hand-in-hand
with growers to keep the integrity of the
grain as it moves from farm gate to silo.
This level of traceability and customization will demand a different
type of relationship with the grower,
Palmquist said.
"It could be in the form of contracted
acreage, where the grower must adhere
not only to tonnage and grain quality
VSHFL¿FDWLRQVEXWDOVRWKHYDULHW\SDGdock and type and amount of inputs they
use," Palmquist said.
He likened this adherence to requirements to organic grain that requires it
meet strict criteria and segregation from
non-organic grain in order to maintain
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maintained, will impact the grower's
bottom line as the premium paid for
organic grower is much higher than
non-organic.
ENSURING PRODUCT SEGREGATION
While the company will always have
the capacity to ship grain in bulk, it will
also need to develop the systems and
infrastructure required to ensure premium product is segregated so it does not
blend it with grains that do not meet the
strict standards required by customers.
This technology could also include
the use of sensors that track grain as
it moves from location to location and

store this information so that it may be
traced across the supply chain.
Palmquist said in addition to factoring
in the physical movement of grain, the
company will need to facilitate a standard of traceability that a consumer may
touch and see.
While GrainCorp does not expect to
get into the actual storytelling, it expects
customers will increasingly demand the
information and therefore will need to
work with processors to allow them to
achieve this. The challenge is the ability
WRFUHDWHWKHVFDOHDQGHI¿FLHQFLHVQHHGed to keep costs down without losing the
customized service.
As on the grower side, Palmquist expects the company will need to work
closely with customers to understand
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including traits, smell and appearance
so that it can deliver the product.
Included in this offering is construction of a pilot malt house or brewery
so they may showcase to customers the
qualities of grain and how they impact
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will take traceability out of the lab or label so that customers can see their product and understand how it will perform
during processing.
"We expect a more discerning customer that will require the market to
shift away from the traditional idea of
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November 2016 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com
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World Grain - November 2016

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