Ontario Grain Farmer October 2021

“This year it really was about providing that expert opinion and credible objective information on the crop,” says Devitt. “We could show what is coming out of the field and how best it could be used.” The concerns over the marketability of the crop also highlighted the need for more communication with farmer-members around the importance of the quality parameters. “Moving forward, we want to improve our ability to share knowledge in the form of educational sessions, for example. Do farmers know the reasons behind why a load was rejected because of low falling number? What does low falling number mean to the milling and baking process? The more information we can share will benefit the entire value chain,” says Santangelo. The GATL has also provided an important commercial service. It is the only commercial wheat testing lab available in all of Canada. “We have set ourselves up to be a leader at supporting the Canadian wheat market,” says Santangelo. When the lab originally opened, there was some discussion about expanding to test other crops, such as testing related to malt barley for the expanding microbrewery industry. But Santangelo says they have realized they don’t need to bring everything under the GATL roof to provide service to other sectors. “The entire SGS Canada and global network is available to support us with providing testing services we can’t perform at the GATL. Having those extended resources beyond the grains lab is one of the benefits of our joint venture. It allows us to explore Grain Farmers of Ontario initiatives requiring testing of crops other than wheat without the need for additional equipment.” Devitt agrees, “We have the direct connection to farming but we can also provide global context and that is what makes this joint venture successful.” l ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER 43 OCTOBER 2021 This article features an update on a Grain Farmers of Ontario Market Development initiative.