United States Department of Agriculture

Agricultural Marketing Service

Federal Grain Inspection Service

Directive 9120.1 May 1, 1997

Distribution: FGIS, OSP, Industry Originating Office: FMD PPMAB

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in its programs on the basis of race, color, 

national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and marital or familial status. (Not all prohibited 

bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternate means for communication of program 

information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and 

TDD).

To file a complaint, write to the USDA, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, 

Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal employment opportunity 

employer.

THE COLLECTION AND USE OF WHEAT VARIETY TYPE SAMPLES

Contents

THE COLLECTION AND USE OF WHEAT VARIETY TYPE SAMPLES ��������������������������������1

1. PURPOSE �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

2. REPLACEMENT HIGHLIGHTS �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

3. POLICY �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

4. BACKGROUND �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

5. COLLECTION, CLASSIFICATION, AND USE OF TYPE SAMPLES ��������������������������������

6. MAINTENANCE OF TYPE SAMPLES���������������������������������������������������������������������������������
FGIS Directive 9120.1 May 1, 1997

Page 2

1. PURPOSE

This directive establishes procedures to collect, classify, use, and maintain wheat 

variety “type samples.” These variety-pure samples are used by official inspection 

personnel as a reference to properly identify wheat varieties and classes grown in the 

United States

2. REPLACEMENT HIGHLIGHTS

This directive supersedes FGIS Program Directive 912.1 dated 4-25-90  This directiv

is updated to reflect organizational changes, new numbering system, and new format 

but does not revise policy

3. POLICY

Variety type samples will be collected, classified, maintained, and used by field offices,

agencies, and the Board of Appeals and Review (BAR) according to procedures in this

directive. Using type samples will help official inspection personnel classify wheat

correctly and provide the grain industry with more uniform and accurate inspection 

results under the Official U.S. Standards for Wheat.

4. BACKGROUND

New varieties are constantly being developed and introduced. However, varietie

belonging to different classes are often used in developing new varieties which may not

always have the physical characteristics traditionally used by official inspection 

personnel to classify wheat. Thus, it is important to have samples of varieties having

similar physical or morphological characteristics for each class of wheat

Official inspection personnel will be able to maintain proficiency in assigning the correct

class to wheat samples by using the variety type samples as an interpretative reference
FGIS Directive 9120.1 May 1, 1997

Page 3

5. COLLECTION, CLASSIFICATION, AND USE OF TYPE SAMPLES

a. Field Office and Agency Responsibilities  Inspection personnel licensed o

authorized to grade wheat must be able to recognize the different varieties and 

classes of wheat marketed within the geographical area for which the field office or 

agency has responsibility

Wheat variety type samples will be available to assist inspection personnel with 

this requirement and will be assembled as follows:

(1) Each field office, with the cooperation of the agencies in their area, shall 

collect a minimum of 5,000 grams of each wheat variety currently grown or 

marketed within their area of responsibility. As new varieties are introduced,

the same requirements will apply

All samples shall be certified as pure seed. Untreated wheat should be used 

for variety type samples unless no untreated seed of a particular variety is 

available

Inspection personnel are encouraged to seek cooperation from county 

extension agents, colleges, universities, seed companies, producers, and the 

grain industry in order to collect complete sets of wheat variety type samples

State universities or seed companies can usually provide a list of certified 

seed producers

(2) Official inspection personnel collecting the samples should note relevant 

information on the varieties, such as pedigree, acreage planted, and 

production of the variety compared to the total wheat produced in the area 

and submit this along with the type samples

(3) The field office shall remove a small portion of each type sample from each 

inspection point in their circuit then send the balance of the sample to the 

BAR as soon as possible

(4) Each field office and agency shall maintain a collection of wheat variety type 

samples according to section 5 of the directive and make them available to 

their inspectors

(5) Inspection personnel licensed or authorized to grade wheat must be trained to 

identify varieties and be informed of new varieties as they appear in the 

circuit

(6) Each year before harvest, agency managers must submit to the field office an 

updated list of wheat varieties in their area. Each field office manager will 

compile the list for their area and submit it to the BAR. Climatic conditions

and differences in geographic areas may cause differences in varietal 

characteristics so a sample of each variety should accompany the list if 

possible
FGIS Directive 9120.1 May 1, 1997

Page 4

b. Board of Appeals and Review Responsibilities  The BAR is responsible fo

determining the class of each variety submitted. The BAR classification shall 

prevail for all official inspection purposes even when the class assigned by the 

BAR does not agree with that of the wheat breeder

(1) The BAR shall notify the field office manager of the correct classification of all 

varieties submitted

(2) The BAR shall notify the field office manager of new varieties that may appear 

in a field office circuit and distribute the appropriate type samples.

6. MAINTENANCE OF TYPE SAMPLES

Field offices and agencies shall retain type samples in suitable bottles (approximately

2-ounce capacity). Possible suppliers include

Curtis Matheson Scientific 1

P.O. Box 14

Houston, Texas 77251-1490

Telephone: 1-800-650-0650

Twin City Bottle 1

1227 Hennipen Avenue East

Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414

Telephone: (612) 331-8880

Put a mothball in each bottle to preserve the wheat. Identify each sample with a label

color coded as follows:

Hard Red Winter wheat Blue

Durum wheat Green

Soft Red Winter wheat Yellow

Soft White wheat Black

Hard White wheat Brown

Hard Red Spring wheat Red

Include the name of the variety, name of the class, crop year, and source of the sample

For example:

Arkan Color Code: Blue

HRW, 1986

Wichita, Kansas

 

1 The mention of firm names does not imply that they are recommended by the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture over other firms not mentioned.