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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Grain Inspection Advisory 

Committee Meeting 

+ + + + + 

Thursday, August 31, 2023 

8:30 a.m. 

+ + + + + 

USDA AMS FGIS 

10383 N Ambassador Drive 

Kansas City, MO 64153 

PRESENT: 

Barbara Grove, Chair 

Arthur Neal, Deputy Administrator 

Denise Ruggles, Executive Program Analyst 

Karla Whalen, Director - Quality Assurance &

Compliance Division 

Charles Parr, Acting Director - Field

Management Division 

Dr. Ed Jhee, Director - Technology &

Science Division 

Dr. Charles Hurburgh 

Charles Bird 

Philip Garcia 

Christopher Frederking 

Robert Sinner 

Janice Cooper 

John Morgan 

Shayleen Rambur 

Nicholas Friant

Kia Adams-Mikesh 

Jimmy Williams 

Mark Heil

Curtis Engel 
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1 P-R-O-C-E-E-D-I-N-G-S 

2 (8:31 a.m.) 

3 MS. GROVE: Good morning, everybody. 

4 We're just taking just a few minutes here trying 

5 to get connected to the internet. Nick is going 

6 to be our scribe this morning, so while we're 

7 going through recommendations, he will then 

8 change anything live that we determine in this 

9 room. So trying to get connectivity here quick. 

10 Again, welcome everybody. Long day, 

11 good day spent yesterday. A lot of information 

12 and, obviously, some topics dear to heart that we 

13 feel, hey, this is affecting us in our trade and 

14 our ability to continue to move forward with what 

15 we need to do. 

16 I thank everybody for the 

17 participation. It's important that as we are all 

18 here, that we all bring the industry perspective 

19 from the area that we have expertise. That is 

20 why we look for a diverse group in those 

21 applications as we are talking to people about, 

22 hey, I think you'd be great on the committee. 
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1 Those are things to keep in mind. 

2 Are they somebody that you know is 

3 going to bring their experience from their part 

4 of the industry and come here and say these 

5 things are very important to us? That's 

6 something I really love about this committee is, 

7 again, that diversity of where you're at in the 

8 industry. I think we learn a lot from each 

9 other. You develop those relationships. 

10 I'm going to bring Pat into it. I 

11 said whose cell phone number is Pat going to give 

12 to me when he retires, and will they accept my 

13 call to have those people that we trust? We can 

14 say, hey, can you help me with this or what is 

15 the procedure? What should we be doing? I think 

16 those are very important. 

17 So I thank everybody for -- to 

18 continue to build those relationships. The 

19 networking that we do in the evening isn't just 

20 about, hey, let's have some supper, but it's 

21 about getting to know people, getting to know the 

22 people that are going to bring it to the table 
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1 and help us every time. 

2 So we will start out this morning with 

3 any public comments. If anybody online has a 

4 public comment or a comment about the industry 

5 issues that we brought to the table yesterday, 

6 please go ahead and put it in the chat. We are 

7 monitoring. Put it in the chat. If you would 

8 like to come online and speak, you have that 

9 ability. So just go ahead and send that chat to 

10 the National Grain Center. 

11 Yep, the National Grain Center. Put 

12 it out there, say, hey, I have a comment. If you 

13 would prefer just to use the chat with your 

14 comment, we'll, again, make 

15 Anybody in the gallery here today, the 

16 public gallery, have anything that you would like 

17 to add to any of our topics? Again, our topics 

18 that we discussed that we are looking to put 

19 proposals together are FGIS user fees and budget, 

20 lab scales, vessel fumigation policy, and data 

21 standards. And I'll just give a few minutes. 

22 
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1 MR. FRIANT: What do you want to start 

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with? 

MS. GROVE: Those two. 

All right. Once Nick gets connected 

that he is projecting on the screen -- I love 

your rainbow, Nick. 

MR. FRIANT: That's our reserve 

export facility in New Orleans. I won't say who 

the one next 

MS. GROVE: You know, when you offer 

meetings hybrid, you're taking advantage of the 

technology advancements that the -- if you want 

to look for a silver lining that COVID brought 

us, it's the acceptance of hybrid meetings in all 

of our business. So again, it can certainly help 

with cost and efficiency of your time and travel, 

but sometimes you got to hate it a 

So here we go. We're going to start 

today with the fumigation policy. I think we 

feel this one -- I think we feel pretty good and 

a little bit clear-cut about this as the 

discussion was held yesterday. 
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1 Chris, I'm going to go ahead and let 

2 you lead this. Do you have it up in front of 

3 your computer? You go ahead and lead as you 

4 wrote this for us last night. 

5 MR. FREDERKING: Absolutely. I'll 

6 just read through it here and certainly welcome 

7 any additions. 

8 So it reads, "The Grain Inspection 

9 Advisory Committee recommends FGIS adopt the 

10 proposed revisions made by Dr. Walse with ARS to 

11 the Fumigation Policy Handbook Attachment 5. 

12 Prior to finalizing changes, FGIS should engage 

13 APHIS and grain handlers to ensure there is 

14 agreement amongst stakeholders. The changes 

15 specifically to Table 3 within the Attachment 

16 will better facilitate the safe and effective 

17 fumigation of bulk vessels, which furthers the 

18 marketability of U.S. grains." 

19 And then with that, just included the 

20 current attachment 5, inclusive of Table 3, and 

21 then the proposed attachment 5, which Dr. Walse 

22 presented yesterday. 
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1 MS. GROVE: So most, again, had a 

2 little bit of a chance to check this out last 

3 night. Chris, thank you for putting something 

4 very concise together. 

5 I think -- again, after Dr. Walse 

6 joined yesterday, I think it helped make it a 

7 little more clear for us that this is an industry 

8 issue that's being worked on. 

9 Any suggestions or changes, and do you 

10 feel, Arthur, that this gives you clear-cut 

11 direction in what we need? 

12 MR. NEAL: It does. 

13 MS. GROVE: All right. No further 

14 discussion on this? Everybody is good with this? 

15 If everybody feels comfortable, I'm going to go 

16 ahead and take a vote. 

17 And do we have Curt on? 

18 Okay. Just for transparency, we'll 

19 say we do have a member that has been attending 

20 virtually, so his votes were going to come 

21 through on chat, and Kendra was going to raise 

22 her hand, yay or nay, for his vote. So when he 
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1 comes on, we will add him to the course. 

2 I would entertain, then, a motion to 

3 accept this proposal. 

4 MS. COOPER: Move to approve. 

5 MR. SINNER: Second, Bob Sinner. 

6 MS. GROVE: Okay. So we've had first 

7 and seconds. Could I have a vote of yea? Yes, 

8 for acceptance? 

9 (Chorus of yea.) 

10 MS. GROVE: Any refusals? 

11 All right. Thank you. So this 

12 policy, then -- or this proposal passes, and we 

13 are going to then move on to lab scale. 

14 So as soon as that comes up, Kia, if 

15 you would like to present that. 

16 MS. ADAMS-MIKESH: Okay. We put the 

17 Grain Inspection Advisory Committee recommends 

18 FGIS gather further information to help determine 

19 the proper path forward regarding the requirement 

20 of lab scale E-values at 0.01 grams. 

21 The following information is requested 

22 before the next GIAC meeting to aid in the 
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1 committee's decisions surrounding the 

2 recommendation. 

3 One, identify and report grains and 

4 grading factors/official criteria that could be 

5 statistically impacted using a laboratory scale 

6 for inspection purposes with a 0.1 gram E-value 

7 versus a 0.01 gram E-value. 

8 For example, grading factors requiring 

9 calculations to the hundredth on a portion size 

10 less than 125 grams. 

11 Two, additional data surrounding how 

12 often the statistical impact of not requiring 

13 0.01 gram E-value scales could have on factors 

14 that change grade determinations. It is thought 

15 FGIS could gather data through the inspection 

16 data warehouse within FGIS online for the above 

17 factors that are plus or minus 0.1 grams from a 

18 grade change. 

19 Three, GIAC members will discuss the 

20 proposal details with industry sectors to 

21 determine financial impacts. These figures will 

22 be brought to the next meeting for discussion. 
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1 GIAC recommends keeping the inspection 

2 lab scale recommendation open for the next GIAC 

3 meeting to discuss the gathered information to 

4 make an informed decision. 

5 MS. GROVE: Again, I know people had 

6 a chance to review this last night. Any 

7 suggestions for clarity? 

8 And, Arthur, in looking at this and 

9 how it was presented, we aren't at this point 

10 suggesting the change because we feel we need 

11 more information on that impact. 

12 Okay. I do want to ask on this one. 

13 And as a thought, would it be too broad as the 

14 handbook is being reviewed -- because I think 

15 this was -- this is where, you know, Ryan brought 

16 this to us and finding it under scales. 

17 Would it make it too broad to have him 

18 bring back -- or how much review is going to be 

19 happening through the rest of the handbook prior 

20 to us setting another meeting that he can also 

21 report back what other types of instruments? We 

22 are not seeing the consistency with our handbook 
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1 and with NIST. Because that was that was his 

2 initial proposal in bringing this to us, is 

3 finding that inconsistency. 

4 MR. NEAL: Right. 

5 MS. GROVE: And we didn't address that 

6 here. If we keep this open, is that something to 

7 address, then, for the next time? 

8 MR. NEAL: I think it's a separate 

9 issue. 

10 MS. GROVE: Okay. 

11 MR. NEAL: Because it really addresses 

12 the entire handbook. Any place within that 

13 handbook that's referencing NIST and alignment, 

14 it could be amended to include it, but it really 

15 broadens the entire -- it's a major project. 

16 MS. GROVE: Right. Okay. So we'll 

17 keep that in consideration, make sure to look at 

18 that per agenda items. 

19 Charlie? 

20 MR. HURBURGH: Would it be 

21 appropriate, not as part of this -- this is 

22 pretty well-defined and addresses one issue, for 
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1 sure, but would it be reasonable to review the 

2 handbooks to identify the various places that 

3 NIST standards and FGIS standards maybe aren't 

4 quite lined up? 

5 I'll go back to the equivalency of the 

6 NIRT machines as one of the places because 

7 Handbook 44 doesn't quite line up with the FGIS 

8 handbooks. But would it be a good idea to maybe 

9 at least come with a list of where these places 

10 are, and then we can decide what specifics need 

11 to go forward at the next meeting and not clutter 

12 this issue with other topics? 

13 MS. GROVE: Right. And I think, 

14 again, Kia's written proposal is very concise. 

15 MR. HURBURGH: Right. 

16 MS. GROVE: It gives very good 

17 direction, so thank you for that. 

18 And I think -- again, as Arthur just 

19 stated, I think that is definitely, at the end of 

20 the meeting, as we go to talk about agenda items 

21 for the next meeting, a very good suggestion that 

22 we will put that down as their -- the handbook 
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1 has continued to be reviewed to identify these. 

2 So thank you for that, and we'll make 

3 sure to put that on the next agenda item. 

4 Any other thoughts from the group on 

5 this specific or any general public comment? 

6 All right. I'd like to ask for a 

7 motion to accept the proposal as it is written. 

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MR. HURBURGH: I so move. 

MR. HEIL: Seconded. 

MS. GROVE: All right. And a vote of 

11 yes for accepting this? 

12 MULTIPLE SPEAKERS: Yes. 

13 MS. GROVE: All right. And any no's? 

14 All right. Thank you. We passed this 

15 proposal. 

16 Well, you guys are making Nick's work 

17 really easy this morning. 

18 So next we are going to do data 

19 standards. So again, Chris, if you would like to 

20 present your proposal. 

21 MR. FREDERKING: Sure. Hopefully, I 

22 don't make Nick's job difficult here. 
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1 So for this one, certainly through our 

2 discussion, it changed tack a little bit but 

3 hopefully gives a good path forward for FGIS. 

4 So it reads: In concert with other 

5 technology initiatives within FGIS, the GIAC 

6 recommends that the following subjects regarding 

7 data standardization of data be further explored 

8 and findings reported to the committee. 

9 The scope of this data standardization 

10 and this recommendation includes communication 

11 protocols, data formats, units and measures, 

12 security protocols, and other criteria that 

13 facilitate the exchange of data between 

14 stakeholders. 

15 First bullet point: Evaluate and 

16 document the current status of previous data 

17 standardization initiatives that are unfinished, 

18 their anticipated benefit, and the required work 

19 to bring them to completion. 

20 Second bullet point is: Engage both 

21 internal and external stakeholders to identify 

22 and to aid in identifying potential data 
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1 standardization projects and their perceived 

2 benefit. 

3 Third is: Develop a framework for 

4 prioritizing and managing data standardization 

5 projects to ensure progress is made on the 

6 appropriate projects and that they are closed out 

7 in a timely manner. 

8 And then last is, and certainly most 

9 importantly: Ensure funding is available to 

10 facilitate the above recommendations. 

11 MS. GROVE: I do want to ask our A.V. 

12 team, is Nick's screen on Zoom? I didn't think 

13 so because I wasn't seeing it. There is no way 

14 to do that? 

15 Just -- that was a lot for anybody 

16 online to digest that, hearing it. 

17 THE REPORTER: When you're reading 

18 documents, just so you know, you have a tendency 

19 to read really fast. So if you can keep in mind 

20 sometimes, I can't type that fast. 

21 MS. GROVE: Thank you. 

22 THE REPORTER: I have to tell everyone 
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1 that. Anytime. 

2 MS. GROVE: So Chris, I actually am 

3 going to ask you to repeat. Let us digest that a 

4 little bit. You know, the gallery hasn't seen 

5 it. We read it. Give us a few again, at least a 

6 high point of what we are wanting from FGIS. 

7 MR. FREDERKING: Sure. 

8 MS. GROVE: I think just the 

9 recommendations we want. 

10 MR. FREDERKING: Yeah, I think it's 

11 important, probably that last sentence on the 

12 intro. So the scope of the data standardization 

13 in this recommendation includes communication 

14 protocols, data formats, units of measure, 

15 security protocols, and other criteria that 

16 facilitate the exchange of data between 

17 stakeholders. 

18 First bullet point is: Evaluate and 

19 document the current status of previous data 

20 standardization initiatives that are unfinished, 

21 their anticipated benefit, and the required work 

22 to bring them to completion. 
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Next is: Engage both internal and 

external stakeholders to aid in identifying 

potential data standardization projects and their 

perceived benefit. 

Third is: Develop a framework for 

prioritizing and managing data standardization 

projects to ensure progress is made on the 

appropriate projects and they are closed out in a 

timely manner. 

And finally: Ensure funding is 

available to facilitate the above 

recommendations. 

MR. FRIANT: So I have one question, 

and it's for the whole committee. Do we need --

first of all, thanks, Chris. Very good 

recommendation. Do we need anything in here 

around time limits or timing on reporting back or 

providing additional information to the committee? 

MR. FREDERKING: I guess my hope 

would be that this would be a recurring topic and 

that it would be, again, discussed at the next 

meeting 
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as far as -- because it basically is -- the 

intent would be to benchmark where we are 

currently at, engage those other industry folks, 

and then certainly would want to -- as 

stakeholders, the GIAC would have input on that, 

as well. 

So if we should add that, you know, 

report back to the GIAC at the next meeting, we 

could certainly do that. Because that was 

certainly my intent. 

MR. FRIANT: Could we maybe take the 

language from Kia's and edit it and add it to 

yours? 

MR. FREDERKING: Yes. 

MS. GROVE: So I do also wonder if 

this is a point where we can add -- and Kendra, 

you can shake your head no to me if this isn't --

is this something, as we are wanting to keep this 

open -- we are wanting to put this -- adding to 

it that we would like to keep this as an open for 

the next meeting also an appropriate topic or 

area for a subcommittee? 
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1 Whether this is data or technologies, 

2 can we put this in as if we -- with the standard, 

3 we would like to add a subcommittee that can work 

4 on this with industry? I think this would be the 

5 place we need to add that and vote on this that 

6 we would like a subcommittee and that we would 

7 develop that subcommittee. 

8 And those members, do we have to 

9 develop -- do we have to choose those members 

10 today or if we say we are developing a 

11 subcommittee? 

12 I just want to make sure we do it 

13 right. 

14 MR. NEAL: You should identify the 

15 members of the subcommittee. 

16 MS. GROVE: Today. Okay. 

17 So we have had an unofficial 

18 subcommittee that has been meeting -- that has 

19 met to get us going on technology. If we talk 

20 about this data standard, you know, what is 

21 drafted here, that encompasses a lot. Because we 

22 do have to think about cybersecurity. 
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We're identifying, as we said 

yesterday, what's that low-hanging fruit. What 

are the first things that we feel we can work on? 

That is still all -- that is all part of a 

technology group. But we have two of those 

members that will be leaving the committee, so --

MULTIPLE SPEAKERS: All three. 

MS. GROVE: All three. Well, Chris 

joined, so we have -- so this is going to be a 

committee that we won't have the mentorship of 

the people who started it. But do we have 

somebody who has a passion for the technology or 

the data that feel you can lead this group in 

that area? 

MR. FRIANT: So could we maybe start 

with just adding the subcommittee to the 

recommendation, get that word-smithed, and then 

we can talk about -- well, maybe the question is: 

Does everybody agree that we should have a 

subcommittee? 

MR. NEAL: I can make a 

recommendation. Or comment, rather. 
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1 It may be best to let us start out 

2 with getting the information to you so you can 

3 then decide if you need to have a subcommittee. 

4 MR. ENGEL: I have a question for 

5 Arthur. 

6 The last bullet point about ensuring 

7 funding, how would you go about that? Can you 

8 ensure funding? 

9 MR. NEAL: That's a great question. 

10 You can ensure funding. The question 

11 is prioritization, and so we'll make that call. 

12 I think it's more so assessing whether or not 

13 funding can be made available for some of the 

14 things that are identified. 

15 As you all know, we're balancing a lot 

16 of stuff right now, so what's the priority? Is 

17 the priority taking on a project for data 

18 transfer or making sure we are keeping service 

19 going -- I mean -- keeping service going? So it 

20 depends. So I can't guarantee we will ensure 

21 funding is available. We will assess it 

22 accordingly. 
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MR. ENGEL: Part of my question was, 

is there someplace to go look for funding for 

something of this nature? 

MR. NEAL: It will have to come out of 

appropriations. It's not going to come out of 

user fee because we're going to make sure user 

fees are being dedicated to provide a direct 

service. And as we're currently doing, we're 

trying to make sure we take some of the pressure 

off of the user fee by applying a lot of 

administrative costs to appropriations. So if I 

have got to implement a strategy, like I said, I 

am going to choose service first. 

MS. GROVE: Yeah. 

MR. FRIANT: Arthur, thinking about 

the funding, and I was thinking about this 

yesterday during the presentation. Is there any 

-- are there any government programs available 

that can fund agency activity? So, you know, 

there's a lot of programs for public and private 

agencies to get government funding and grants. 

Are there any similar programs that we can look 
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1 at for FGIS? 

2 MR. NEAL: There are some. They are 

3 loan-based. There are probably others. 

4 I'm not taking out a loan to --

5 because there are agencies that have taken out 

6 government loans to innovate, and once they've 

7 innovated, they find out what they have is not 

8 what they need. But now they are sitting now 

9 with a huge loan that they have got to pay back 

10 with user fees at some point. 

11 So we will look for opportunities to 

12 get funded, but it definitely won't be a loan. 

13 We'll look for grant programs, free money, to do 

14 that. 

15 Because we've been approached about 

16 that numerous times to participate in that 

17 government loan program to enhance our 

18 information, like our enterprise system, to build 

19 out FGIS online and things like that. But for 

20 me, I don't think that's fiscally responsible 

21 right now. 

22 MR. ENGEL: So how do we change that 
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verbiage? Because he doesn't want to -- a loan. 

MS. GROVE: Well, aside for -- it's 

more of changing the word "ensure" to assess. 

MR. ENGLE: Right. Okay. 

MS. GROVE: I think you have to look 

to see -- he can't assure that -- ensure that we 

have the money, but he can assess it, see if 

there's something there. I don't know if 

"assess" is the right word, but -- okay. And 

ensure that funding is available and research 

other funding opportunities. 

MR. FRIANT: And determine funding 

opportunities? 

MS. GROVE: Research, I think, is --

MR. FRIANT: Something like that, of that nature? 

MS. GROVE: Other funding 

opportunities. 

Scientific proof you can't type when 

people are staring at you. 

I also would like to reach out -- I 

know Lee Capper is on. If this isn't putting you 
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1 on the spot, do you have input or thoughts to 

2 this proposal today? Yeah, and if you are --

3 there you go. I think they can -- they've unmuted 

4 you. If you can --

5 MR. CAPPER: Thank you for the 

6 opportunity to comment. Lee Capper, FGIS. 

7 And I believe this, you know, 

8 certainly gets at the root of the issue that's 

9 been discussed for the last couple of days. And, 

10 you know, as Arthur said, our big challenge is 

11 finding the resources to put toward these 

12 projects. 

13 I guess I might offer a comment that 

14 perhaps a subcommittee at least offers this 

15 committee the opportunity to explore certain 

16 areas with those members having the time able to 

17 dedicate towards that if there are specific areas 

18 you would want that subcommittee to attack. 

19 Thank you. 

20 MS. GROVE: Thank you. 

21 So, Kia, I would like to actually put 

22 you on the spot a little bit. 
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1 MS. ADAMS-MIKESH: Okay. 

2 MS. GROVE: Because yesterday, you did 

3 talk to us about you are part of an organization 

4 or a company that is working on developing or 

5 looking at things like this. 

6 Is that something that, you know, as 

7 part of a subcommittee, bringing that to a group 

8 and helping them see -- to start what is already 

9 out there? Why create something new if somebody 

10 is working on it already? 

11 I'll let you --

12 MS. ADAMS-MIKESH: I would be happy to 

13 serve on the subcommittee and talk with anybody 

14 that wants to be involved with it. 

15 MR. HURBURGH: I think you might be a 

16 little bit quick for a subcommittee. I think we 

17 should let FGIS chew on this and do some 

18 brainstorming and priority setting and then come 

19 back, and we can better target them, what kind of 

20 areas that are feasible. 

21 I think we are thinking about a very 

22 near-term additional meeting, so, you know, we 
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1 don't have a lot of time. I think I would wait 

2 with the subcommittee until we hear what they 

3 think is important. Whether we think so or not, 

4 it still is a starting point. 

5 MS. GROVE: Right. And again, it is 

6 something that we can make sure that we've added 

7 to our next agenda that -- you know, because we 

8 can all bring next time -- give ourselves time to 

9 think about: What can I add to that? I think --

10 I think that is a very appropriate 

11 recommendation. So we will be thinking about 

12 that as we were talking about our agenda items 

13 for the next time. 

14 We just all know we have things in our 

15 own industries that we should be prepared to 

16 bring to the next table. Reach out in your area. 

17 Or if you feel you're comfortable, think about it 

18 until the next meeting. I can agree with that. 

19 So with the change, ensure funding is 

20 available and research under -- other funding 

21 opportunities to facilitate the above 

22 recommendations. Are we comfortable with that? 
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1 MS. ADAMS-MIKESH: What about changing 

2 ensure funding to assess funding options 

3 available? Or identify. Whatever makes sense. 

4 MS. GROVE: Curt, you have your mic 

5 on. Did you have a -- I just didn't want to miss 

6 you. 

7 All right. Do you have any other 

8 thoughts to this? 

9 Curt, thank you for, again, what you 

10 put into this. It was very well-read and brought 

11 in all the things that we talked about yesterday. 

12 Again, you did add in there the data formats, 

13 security protocols. 

14 As presented in an FGIS update 

15 yesterday, you do have cybersecurity protocols 

16 that you are working on. And taking those and, 

17 again, our own industry, we all have 

18 cybersecurity protocols in our company. Those 

19 need to be able to match up. 

20 But we have to say FGIS needs to tell 

21 us what theirs are because if it's going to stop 

22 at the door, no use going forward with something 
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1 if our system is off. It's like we're not going 

2 to let you talk to each other. So I think that's 

3 covered in here. 

4 So I would entertain a motion -- if 

5 there's no more questions on this one, entertain 

6 a motion to accept this, the data standards. 

7 MS. COOPER: Move to accept. 

8 MR. ENGEL: So moved. 

9 MS. GROVE: All right. 

10 MS. COOPER: Second. 

11 MR. ENGEL: Second. 

12 MS. GROVE: All right. And again, all 

13 yeses on that? 

14 MULTIPLE SPEAKERS: Yes. 

15 MS. GROVE: Okay. And any no's? Any 

16 concerns? 

17 All right. Thank you. So our data 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

standards passes now as it is written. 

Now on to FGIS user fees. And if, 

Nick, you would go ahead and present that to us. 

MR. FRIANT: The GIAC would like to 

thank FGIS for the in-depth report on the FGIS 
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1 finances. 

2 Furthermore, the GIAC understands the 

3 gravity of this situation with respect to the 

4 depleted operating reserve and the shortfall of 

5 revenues versus obligations. It is imperative to 

6 maintain the integrity of the official system 

7 since industry, along with domestic and 

8 international customers, holds the U.S. official 

9 system up as the gold standard. 

10 As such, the GIAC recommends that FGIS 

11 engage industry stakeholders to review the 

12 proposed adjustment resulting from the periodic 

13 fee review and continue to work with industry to 

14 identify short and long-term solutions to address 

15 concerns over FGIS user fees and budget. 

16 MS. GROVE: Whew, this was a tough one 

17 yesterday. We spent a lot of time on it. And I 

18 know a lot of different feelings on this, again, 

19 as we all come from different aspects of the 

20 industry. Some of us on this committee are 

21 collecting these fees; some of the people on this 

22 committee are paying these fees. So again, that 
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1 is why the diversity of the group, so we 

2 understand why on both sides and what is needed. 

3 So I do ask you, Arthur, do you 

4 understand the direction at this time? 

5 Now, I feel a little bit somber about 

6 this one because, as talked about yesterday, you 

7 know, Charlie talked about years ago, hey, 

8 writing protocols to close the doors. And we 

9 don't want that to happen. 

10 As listed here, the FGIS system is --

11 it's integral. Again, during FGIS updates 

12 yesterday, as Byron was talking about burying 

13 Asia for a month and bringing us that -- you 

14 know, the confidence in other countries in our 

15 system, in our trade, those things are very 

16 imperative. 

17 But we do feel we need to really take 

18 a look at this and help understand why we got to 

19 the place we were at. And we need to seek other 

20 stakeholders to get some input on those that are 

21 going to be paying these fees. 

22 Any other thoughts from the committee? 
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1 MR. SINNER: I guess I'm a little bit 

2 puzzled on insolvency. What does that mean? 

3 What is the contingency plan? What is the 

4 ability of the agency to operate with a negative 

5 budget? I mean, I think we are all trying to 

6 understand what does this mean without some 

7 resolve to get us in the positive? 

8 MR. NEAL: Great question. 

9 So we are a part of the Agricultural 

10 Marketing Service, which is a grading agency. We 

11 are in the financial posture that we are in, but 

12 the agency is working with us to make sure that 

13 we can operate by supporting us. Now, we can't 

14 do this indefinitely. That's why we have to make 

15 the decision around our fees. 

16 Contingency plan. If, let's say, no 

17 one wants to pay an increase on the fee as we've 

18 suggested, we've got to work on that. I don't 

19 think any of us wanted to be here. 

20 There were attempts to adjust the fees 

21 based on the formula that was in the regulations, 

22 but it did not work. And so we did the periodic 
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1 review to figure out how to reflect and suggest 

2 fees that would help us recover our costs to do 

3 business. 

4 If the desire is that, hey, we don't 

5 want to pay it, it puts us in a different 

6 predicament. What does FGIS look like moving 

7 forward? And so that's something we'll take back 

8 to the agency after this meeting, and we will be 

9 consulting with the industry about that moving 

10 forward. 

11 MR. HURBURGH: I am more concerned 

12 about market conditions driving that reserve 

13 farther in the negative. Regardless of your best 

14 efforts under the situation that you face right 

15 now and under the rules you face, that that --

16 that your revenues may fall further. 

17 And I think we ought to put this on 

18 the table and talk about it openly. Maybe it 

19 doesn't -- maybe this doesn't have to be written 

20 into the recommendation, the public 

21 recommendation, but I think we need to face what 

22 happens if that -- for example, 0.1 months 
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1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

reserve that was predicted out of scenario 3, if 

that all of a sudden goes to minus one year 

because of economic export conditions or 

whatever. 

I'm more concerned about those types 

of variabilities than I am the willingness for 

the industry to take your proposals as they are 

now. I just think they're -- they got a lot of 

risk to them. 

MR. NEAL: I don't disagree. And I 

think we've had this conversation before, is what 

do we need? What do we look like moving forward? 

MR. FRIANT: Well, and I think, 

Charlie, to add to your point, maybe the 

specifics of what you mentioned don't fit in the 

recommendation, but I think they do get captured 

in that last sentence around short and long-term. 

Because what you're talking about 

definitely gets to out -- so I think -- I just 

want to make sure that we are looking at it that 

way. Because what you said is very important, 

and I think it does keep us in there without 
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1 having the minutiae written in the actual 

2 recommendation. 

3 MS. ADAMS-MIKESH: Nick, what would we 

4 think about having a timeline in there, as we 

5 were discussing on other ones? Arthur had 

6 mentioned that this is of urgency, and we had 

7 discussed yesterday by -- getting information 

8 back hopefully by end of September. 

9 Is that something we would like to put 

10 into this recommendation? 

11 MS. GROVE: I am going to first say 

12 that I think this is another one of those items 

13 that we keep -- we have to have on the agenda 

14 next time because it is something I feel we need 

15 to talk about a little more often to stay on top 

16 of it and so we aren't at a point of no return 

17 before we feel we need to do something about it. 

18 And not that you have said -- been 

19 looking at it for the last year and said, yeah, 

20 we'll wait another year. You haven't been. 

21 You've been gathering data. You've been working 

22 on scenarios. 
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1 And I think maybe for the rest of the 

2 group and the -- I'll say the public who have 

3 been involved in this -- oh, I'm so sorry. I was 

4 the one. Oh, geez. Now I can't give Curt a hard 

5 time. 

6 I think it needs to stay open, but I 

7 do feel that industry -- as we're saying we need 

8 industry, I don't think we can -- if our 

9 recommendation is we want to get industry 

10 feedback to what Kia just said, I think we have 

11 to -- as the industry partners, need to be 

12 respectful of that and say this is a matter of 

13 urgency. 

14 We can't force industry partners to 

15 get together, stakeholders, whether it's NGFA, 

16 NGA, other people. We can't force somebody to 

17 have a meeting here in the very short term, but I 

18 think we have to be able to come back to our 

19 organization and say this needs to be discussed 

20 very soon. Because again, our recommendations 

21 are saying what we want FGIS to do. FGIS can't 

22 also push other industry organizations to have a 
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1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

meeting, but can be part of those, and we all 

have to bring it back to our organizations. 

MR. NEAL: Yeah, we will work quickly 

with industry to have conversations because we 

can't wait to make a decision either. So 

regardless, we will be working with industry to 

make sure people understand the current state of 

affairs, the options, as well as, you know, 

participating in discussions about future 

direction. 

MR. FRIANT: It's -- yeah, I agree. 

And you make a great point, too, Barb, about we 

are writing a recommendation for the agency and 

the secretary, not for the stakeholders. 

To your point, though, Kia, what if 

we added something here around, you know, 

recognizing time is of the essence or time --

something related to the timing piece? Maybe not 

saying we need response in 30 days and 45 days 

and this, but some -- I just don't know if 

specific verbiage of "time is of the essence" 
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1 makes sense. 

2 I guess I'm asking: What other 

3 verbiage could we use to express that need for 

4 timeliness? 

5 MS. COOPER: We might just replace 

6 "gravity" with the word "urgency". That might 

7 convey -- or add "urgency" in the second line. 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

MR. FRIANT: Yeah, totally replace 

it. Or what about gravity and urgency? 

MR. MORGAN: Arthur, this is John 

Morgan. Quick question: You guys are going to 

probably make a decision about when on this? 

Just --

MR. NEAL: I can't tell you that 

because I don't know. From -- what I try to do 

is facilitate the decision-making. The decisions 

will be made by people much higher than I am, so 

--

MR. MORGAN: Do you anticipate 

priority at year-end, then? 

MR. NEAL: Yes, priority. You know, 

when I say it's a priority, I think we've proven 
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1 it. What we identify as a priority, we get done. 

2 But I don't control the timeline. 

3 MS. COOPER: This is such a 

4 complicated issue with historical references to 

5 how things were done and how the different caps 

6 and increase things were developed. It's -- it 

7 took us hours to discuss and further understand. 

8 I think you mentioned you were 

9 developing a presentation on this or you -- and 

10 to try and convey the -- both the historical but 

11 also your path going forward. Did I hear that 

12 yesterday that you were going to put something 

13 together to help explain it? 

14 MS. GROVE: I think what we talked 

15 about when -- after Jess and then also Nick asked 

16 some questions about bringing this to the 

17 industry and having some meetings, and they 

18 specifically mentioned NGFA and NGA. But other 

19 industry partners. I think we were discussing 

20 it'd be good to have some -- a good consistent 

21 piece of information to be able to share. 

22 So you didn't say you were working on 
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1 it. I think we discussed that we felt it would 

2 be a good idea. So you had information. So if 

3 you were leading the meeting -- let's see. If I 

4 go back -- that if you were part of those 

5 meetings, more you were going to give a 

6 presentation to help understand that. So that is 

7 where Janice got that. I think we were 

8 discussing that it would be good to have so there 

9 was an understanding. 

10 MR. NEAL: Yeah, I think Denise's 

11 presentation puts a lot of that information into 

12 a format that is there. You know, all of the 

13 context will probably have to be shared verbally. 

14 This is a complex budget. I mean, it 

15 took people in AMS a minute to understand why are 

16 there so many caps. There are like 34 caps in 

17 this program. No other grading program has that. 

18 You got a $55 million cap. You got a 30 percent 

19 cap on administrators. You got a 5 percent cap 

20 on whether or not you can increase or decrease 

21 fees. 

22 Nobody is doing that, and nobody 
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1 understood why it's there. So -- and they don't 

2 understand -- like when we go through a fee 

3 increase, we get questions from the secretary's 

4 office: Well, why are you increasing fees, and 

5 your fees are going down? I mean, you've got to 

6 spend a long time explaining that about the 

7 history of the caps and the impact that it has on 

8 your ability to do business the way you need to 

9 do it. 

10 You know, I walked into this deal this 

11 way. I didn't create it. And it's unfortunate 

12 that we're here, but it's a lot of stuff that 

13 went into getting us here. My goal is to try to 

14 get us out or figure out a path forward so we 

15 don't have to keep dealing with this the way that 

16 we are because it's unnecessary. 

17 MS. GROVE: So with this proposal, we 

18 aren't giving you a whole lot of room. 

19 Understand that. We aren't giving you a -- it's 

20 not feeling like a positive look forward. I 

21 think it's just more we feel -- you know, we had 

22 this information a few days to digest a little 
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1 bit. We had it yesterday. 

2 And so for the -- for other industry 

3 stakeholders hearing it -- and I think what I 

4 wrote in my notes was: Arthur and Denise present 

5 at one of those industry meetings to help better 

6 understand. Because it is going to be a shock. 

7 And that is more really the shock value. It's 

8 getting it out there so people know. 

9 Realistically -- and somebody can correct me if 

10 I'm wrong -- and if they'll just be -- just 

11 because we're saying here that we'd like you to 

12 wait, it doesn't mean we control that. 

13 So with that, we just want you to 

14 understand. We just think the industry 

15 stakeholders need to have that time to digest it 

16 a little bit as you're moving this forward 

17 because we -- having the information in front of 

18 us now, it still feels like a little bit of a 

19 shock. 

20 So how do you go about -- you talk 

21 about the caps. You know, Nick mentioned, you 

22 know, 2015, 2016, having said maybe you shouldn't 
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1 put caps. How do you go about taking that off, 

2 then? What is your next steps in that? And is 

3 that something that we need to add in here? How 

4 do we change that to help take that off? 

5 Because we also talked about 

6 consistency. When you were showing -- Denise was 

7 showing us the trend yesterday to see, oh, we had 

8 a 5-percent decrease, and now we had an increase. 

9 Sometimes it's more palatable to have the 

10 consistency than it went down, which feels like 

11 we should feel good about that. You gave us a 

12 little because you decreased the fees, but then 

13 when it has to go up again, then it's, again, a 

14 shock to the system. 

15 I think a different consistency, 

16 saying, you know what? It's a reality to not 

17 lower the fees. You know that, hey, this was a 

18 good year. Let's just lower the fees. Somebody's 

19 probably not happy if I say that, but again, a 

20 consistency of fees is more palatable than 

21 bouncing around. How can we help you or support 

22 you in changing that? 
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1 MR. NEAL: So I'll be honest with you. 

2 So we've got, what, five grading programs in AMS. 

3 They all have to go through fee reviews annually. 

4 They all agree to follow one formula. We're the 

5 only ones. 

6 Now, rice is following that formula. 

7 We're going to be moving commodities to the AMS 

8 formula, but we've got so many stipulations on 

9 the grain formula, we're all over the place. If 

10 we were to move to the AMS formula that everybody 

11 else is using, we wouldn't have these 

12 fluctuations the way we are. 

13 However, you saw the numbers 

14 yesterday. The output from that formula increases 

15 fees far beyond what we are recommending. That 

16 -- nobody wants to tolerate that, either. So, I 

17 mean, ideally, what's going to -- in reality, 

18 what's going to happen, we're going to have 

19 conversations with industry about this. 

20 People who have not been following 

21 this topic, they still won't understand. They're 

22 going to just be angry at the fact that the fees 
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1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

are going up. And that's just the reality of it. 

And we're still going to be left having to make a 

decision. It may go forward; it may not go 

forward. So we're still going to have to have a 

contingency plan. You know, what do we do moving 

forward? 

So this is a reality. You know, I'm 

not upset about anything. I'm just recognizing 

what I've got in my hands. 

MR. FRIANT: Right. I think, 

Arthur, I appreciate hearing that. I certainly 

didn't know that AMS had five different grading 

programs and a standard formula and FGIS was the 

only one not following it. That -- so I think 

that's good and invaluable information for us in 

the conversation to understand where we as FGIS 

are at versus the rest of the agency or the 

department, however you want to look at it. 

The other comment I wanted to come 

back to, Janice, was your question. And I think 

what I heard on that topic was more around what 

type of talking points and messaging did Arthur 
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1 and team need to have or develop to be able to 

2 have the conversation with the key stakeholders. 

3 So maybe not so much a -- because I 

4 think, yeah, what's in the presentations -- and 

5 I've said this a couple of times now -- it's the 

6 best I've seen in several years. So I think 

7 we've got the information that's more about the 

8 messaging to tell us what we really don't want to 

9 hear, and that's rates have got to go up; right? 

10 So I think it's a valid point that you 

11 raised, Janice, and to me, it was more about what 

12 are those messaging and talking points. 

13 MR. NEAL: I'd like to make a comment. 

14 Just -- so this committee is important. As we 

15 need you to help convey this information along 

16 with us to the various sectors of the grain --

17 segments of the grain industry that you 

18 represent, we ask that you also do it in the 

19 context and the spirit in which you're trying to 

20 present it. Because we're going to need help 

21 managing a response to it. 

22 You know, it's not to, hey, we're 
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1 going to increase. You've just got to take it. 

2 That's not the posture or way in. We're trying 

3 to figure out how to do this in a way that people 

4 understand why it has to be done moving forward, 

5 managing it such that it doesn't happen this way 

6 again. 

7 You also have to remember that this 

8 was a transition that took place in 2018. GPSA 

9 was dissolved. FGIS comes into AMS, AMS not 

10 fully understanding -- excuse me -- FCIS's 

11 budget. OMB getting involved because, you know, 

12 they were trying to -- they say, hey, you guys 

13 have this massive reserve account. We're going 

14 to take this money away from you. 

15 No, that's not public money. That's 

16 industry money. Let us work with industry to 

17 deal with this so you don't get your hands on it 

18 and mess with our finances. Us dealing with a 

19 cap. There's a lot in this thing. There's a lot 

20 connected to this. 

21 So we just ask that as you engage 

22 people, that you help us manage the temperament, 
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1 the response that you may get when you share it. 

2 That when we do engage with them, folks can 

3 receive us as we're coming with the right heart, 

4 with the right intent, so we can have a 

5 meaningful, productive conversation about how we 

6 deal with the situation that we find ourselves 

7 in. 

8 MR. SINNER: Arthur, with that said --

9 and I think that was well-said and well-stated --

10 I would encourage you -- strongly encourage you 

11 to stay open and engage your executive committee 

12 of this advisory board. Keep them informed where 

13 we are at. If projections change or anything 

14 changes, we need and want to know. 

15 MR. ENGEL: So I think from a capacity 

16 -- from a talking point standpoint, part of what 

17 we saw yesterday, this capacity is needed. No 

18 one in this room gets to benefit by FGIS not 

19 being able to do export inspections. The 

20 industry doesn't. Producers don't. No one does. 

21 You know, in terms of costs, FGIS 

22 fixed costs are very, very high because -- and in 
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1 most cases, salaries are fixed costs, as well. 

2 So volume fluctuations affect the unit cost of 

3 what they provide by an inordinate amount 

4 compared to a lot of other things that people do 

5 in their, you know, daily activities. 

6 Workforce retention is a problem for 

7 everybody. You know, and it might be the first 

8 problem for most people. And so I absolutely 

9 commend FGIS for their efforts to retain their 

10 workforce and understand that, you know, when the 

11 volume pops back up, everybody just gets to work 

12 more. 

13 And I think one of the -- one of the 

14 things that I saw yesterday, and I'd like a 

15 clarification from Arthur. For the past couple 

16 of years at least, there was funding from other 

17 sources that came into supplementing this budget. 

18 So costs were rising. You know, the work was 

19 ongoing. The differences were -- the differences 

20 were there. They are just masked by this other 

21 funding. Now, today, there is no other funding. 

22 I would be curious just on a personal 
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1 basis to know what those funding amounts were 

2 because that really helps explain part of the 

3 story about why we arrived here from where we 

4 started three years ago or four years ago. 

5 MR. NEAL: Great question, Curt. 

6 We received funding from -- I can't 

7 remember the -- the totals off the top of my 

8 head, but during COVID, we received funding from 

9 the CARES Act, which was money to try to help 

10 states and agencies facilitate programming to 

11 alleviate some of the issues created by COVID. 

12 Part of that funding that we received, 

13 we applied to rebalancing some of our reserve 

14 accounts so that we can take pressure off of 

15 industry, considering we were all struggling with 

16 staffing, with costs, surging costs for COVID, so 

17 that we would not have to increase fees. In 

18 reality, even if we had increased fees, we would 

19 not have been able to increase fees enough to 

20 cover the costs that we were experiencing because 

21 it's only about 5 percent max. 

22 Then as we lost staff or as we may 
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1 have gotten some breaks in administrative costs 

2 or other areas, we applied appropriated funding 

3 to cover administrative costs, non-direct costs, 

4 so that they would not have to be spread across 

5 our user fee accounts so that we can minimize 

6 impact on user fees. That's really the gist. 

7 Am I covering it properly, Denise? 

8 And so we've been operating from a 

9 mindset of ensuring service at the -- at least 

10 cost or least impact possible until we can get 

11 our fees reset outside of the formula that's set 

12 in our regulations. So we have been very 

13 intentional about how we have been moving. 

14 And I know that the number that you 

15 see today is not what, you know, people wanted to 

16 see. Even when we reported -- I think the last 

17 meeting, we may have been reporting on it like a 

18 month of reserves. So everybody has been aware 

19 that the reserve account has been declining for 

20 -- yeah, every meeting. 

21 It just so happened volume dropped 

22 significantly. We didn't control that drop. And 
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1 so our costs started surging, and our revenues 

2 started dropping. Our costs continued to grow, 

3 and our revenues started declining more because 

4 there was less work. And so our costs, they 

5 began to grow faster than our revenue even more. 

6 So no matter what I say, I do not 

7 believe, you know, it's going to really satisfy 

8 the desire to understand fully why are the 

9 numbers the way that they are. Because there's a 

10 lot that we control; there's a lot we don't 

11 control that's affected its current position. 

12 But the money, Curt, has come from 

13 Congress, CARES Act funding, and appropriations. 

14 And even during Hurricane Ida, which was another 

15 major cost or expense for us, we sustained 

16 service. And the agency supported us, you know, 

17 to help us find housing for employees who lost 

18 all of their homes, you know, so that that didn't 

19 have to come out of our reserve account. So 

20 there's a lot of things that have happened, but 

21 it's all been directed towards ensuring service. 

22 MR. FREDERKING: Within this 
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1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

recommendation, should -- with that in mind, 

should we add anything to maybe reiterate the 

want or desire to streamline the process, the 

budget process? 

And we had also talked about 

decoupling tonnage fees versus the balance of 

Schedule A fees. I'm not sure if we want to get 

into that level of detail, but at least some kind 

of intent that we do wish to streamline and maybe 

come in line better with other parts of AMS? 

MR. FRIANT: So I heard yes. 

MS. GROVE: Yes, yes. So information 

that we want to make sure it doesn't get 

forgotten as part of this process, that these are 

important pieces to us. 

So, Chris, could you restate, and then 

Janice will help us with the words. 

MR. FRIANT: Yeah. Logistically, how 

do we want to fit it? Do we want to start 

something around important points to consider or 

important --

22 MS. GROVE: This would be a different 
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1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

paragraph start, a bullet point right up above 

the recommendation to keep it open. 

MR. FRIANT: Now, repeat what you 

said, Chris. 

MR. FREDERKING: Okay. Do we -- we 

want to certainly support the streamlining of the 

process to ensure that we don't find ourselves in 

this position again with that evaluating the -- I 

would say the other fee processes used in AMS and 

also looking at decoupling tonnage fees and the 

balance of Schedule A fees. 

I said it a lot better the first time 

around. Gave me time to think about it. 

MS. GROVE: Are you able to read his 

original statement back to us? 

THE REPORTER: Yes, I can do it with 

playback. One moment. Off the record at 9:41. 

(Whereupon, the record was read back.) 

MS. GROVE: All right. Thank you very 

much. Appreciate that. 

MR. SINNER: Barb, can we add one more 

bullet there that just mentions the --
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1 MS. GROVE: And just a minute with 

2 that thought. Let Nick maybe get caught up to 

3 these three points. 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

MR. FRIANT: Yeah. Maybe let's 

start with that. 

Do these three points capture that, 

support streamlining of the budget for FGIS, 

decoupling tonnage fees, and the rest of Schedule 

A fees, evaluate the use of the AMS standard 

formula? 

And I have a question. I don't know 

if it's Arthur or Denise. Standard formula for 

what? For determining hourly rates? 

14 

15 

MR. NEAL: For calculating fees. 

MR. FRIANT: For calculating fees. 

16 Okay. 

17 MR. SINNER: Yeah, maybe that catches 

18 it. I just want to make sure that the formulas 

19 are thought about in the consideration. 

20 MS. ADAMS-MIKESH: Do we want to put 

21 anything in there about thinking about the 

22 operating reserve? I know you had mentioned that 
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1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

other AMS programs are six months to a year, and 

we are generally at four-and-a-half months. That 

could then gain consistency and not seeing as big 

of swings in fees. 

MS. GROVE: And I do think as an 

editorial piece, as these are bullet points, I 

would take out the punctuation at the end and the 

word "and" on the third line. Just because they 

are bullet points. 

MS. ADAMS-MIKESH: Nick, on the third 

bullet point -- and I might be wrong here, but 

are they user fees, or are they just fees? 

MR. FRIANT: I'll defer to Arthur or 

Denise for that. 

MR. NEAL: Our fees are user fees. It 

doesn't matter if you include it or not, but 

they're user fees. 

MS. COOPER: Do we need to mention 

caps in any way, either removing or streamlining 

or making them easier to live with? What about 

caps? 

22 MR. NEAL: From the AMS perspective, 
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1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

it will be best to not have them. And I think 

what AMS has done throughout its history is just 

make sure there's open, transparent communication 

such that there is not the concern about the 

spending. 

I think -- I don't know for sure 

because I don't have the full history. It seems 

like the caps have been put in place to police 

FGIS spending, and that's created a challenge to 

manage things. 

MR. FRIANT: I would say that's 

captured in the streamlining of the budget 

process, but if the group feels we need a 

specific bullet for assessing or evaluating. 

MS. COOPER: I just wanted to make 

sure that it was included somewhere. And I 

agree. It can be captured in the first bullet. 

I just wanted to make sure we vocalized it. 

MR. HURBURGH: The more bullets we put 

on there, the more we'll find. Because we can go 

on -- and having more directives, so to speak, 

risks hitting hot buttons all over the industry 
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1 and so forth. 

2 I think FGIS understands the problem 

3 pretty well. Maybe the comment about just 

4 streamlining the budget is enough. I think we 

5 ought to let them chew on this and come back at 

6 the next meeting hopefully with something really 

7 out of the box. My point. 

8 MS. COOPER: I think that's a good 

9 point, but actually calling out some of these 

10 items helps explain our thinking to stakeholders 

11 when they read the recommendations, so they 

12 understand, you know, the kinds of -- the breadth 

13 of items we discussed looking at. 

14 MR. HURBURGH: We just don't need to 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

go too far. 

MS. COOPER: I agree. 

MS. GROVE: Although we can see it, 

Nick, I would like you to read this 

recommendation back. 

MR. FRIANT: Yeah. So just for a 

recap, we'll re-read the full recommendation. 

22 The GIAC would like to thank FGIS for 
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1 the in-depth report on the FGIS finances. 

2 Furthermore, the GIAC understands the gravity and 

3 urgency of the situation with respect to the 

4 depleted operating reserve and the shortfall of 

5 revenue versus obligation. 

6 It is imperative to maintain the 

7 integrity of the official system since industry, 

8 along with domestic and international customers, 

9 holds the U.S. official system up as the gold 

10 standard. 

11 As such, the GIAC recommends that FGIS 

12 engage industry stakeholders to review the 

13 proposed adjustment resulting from the periodic 

14 fee review and continue to work with industry to 

15 identify short and long-term solutions to address 

16 concerns over FGIS user fees and budget. 

17 Key aspects to consider, but not 

18 limited to, support streamlining of the budget 

19 process for FGIS, decoupling tonnage fees from 

20 the rest of Schedule A fees, evaluate the use of 

21 the AMS standard formula for calculating user 

22 fees, evaluate the current FGIS operating reserve 
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1 target. 

2 GIAC recommends keeping the user fee 

3 and budget recommendation open for the next GIAC 

4 meeting to discuss the gathered information. 

5 MS. GROVE: If no other discussion on 

6 this, I would entertain a motion to accept this. 

7 MR. ENGEL: So moved. 

8 PARTICIPANT: Second. 

9 MS. GROVE: All right. All the ayes? 

10 MULTIPLE SPEAKERS: Aye. 

11 MS. GROVE: All right. Any nays? 

12 Thank you. Thank you, everybody, for 

13 the time in this. 

14 Again, as stated here, boy, this one 

15 just feels like it brings the room down. Because 

16 again, nobody likes -- nobody likes to pay more 

17 money for something, but if we think of our own 

18 businesses, I know my own company, that we raised 

19 fees to our producers. Have we changed fees to 

20 our customers? We all do it. I think it is more 

21 the aspect of understanding why and where and 

22 how. 
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1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

And I think you having these bullet 

points to give that presentation or talk with the 

industry is going to be very important. And not 

that it doesn't have to happen but taking a 

little bit of the sting out of it and 

understanding. 

Thank you very much. 

MR. FRIANT: So for our online audience, can I 

stop sharing so we can get all these saved? 

MS. GROVE: So with that, I feel we 

have finalized our recommendations of our four 

topics for today. We've given FGIS a pretty 

meaty list to be working on. Very important for 

us here at this time. 

We're going to go ahead and just 

take a short break. Everybody, you know, 

recouple, grab a little bit of a drink. I know 

that's early, but I think we can -- we can move 

along the rest of the meeting. Let's just take 

a quick 15 here and come back. 

22 (Whereupon, the above-entitled matter 
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1 went off the record for a brief recess.) 

2 MS. GROVE: All right, everybody. 

3 This is like trying to get everybody before the 

4 church service to start quieting down. The 

5 praise band just has to play louder so that 

6 everybody realizes you can't talk anymore. 

7 So the next item on our agenda this 

8 morning is officer elections. So within our 

9 handbook, our charter states a chair and 

10 vice-chair, and within our handbook, we also 

11 state we have a secretary, a chairman to oversee 

12 the meetings, the vice-chair then to be able to 

13 step in and take on those duties as needed. 

14 And the secretary is to help verify 

15 those meeting notes. And I think that's 

16 something, you know, we work on a little bit 

17 better. Work on those items. We need to make 

18 sure we don't forget and work on our accuracy as 

19 everything we do here is a public record and is 

20 stated on a -- posted on a website afterwards. 

21 So at this point, I would like to 

22 entertain nominations for chair. 
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1 MS. COOPER: I would like to nominate 

2 Barb Grove to continue as chair. You're doing a 

3 great job, and I think we will need an 

4 experienced hand as we go forward and handle some 

5 of these challenging issues. 

6 MR. SINNER: I second that nomination, 

7 Madam Chairman. 

8 MS. GROVE: Any other nominations? 

9 All right. I'll move on to a vote. 

10 All those in favor, say aye. 

11 MULTIPLE SPEAKERS: Aye. 

12 MS. GROVE: Those opposed, aside from 

13 Curt? 

14 Vice-chair, again, very important. 

15 You know, we -- we know that this isn't our paid 

16 job, and sometimes schedules do conflict, so very 

17 important to have somebody that can step in and 

18 help guide this committee. 

19 I would entertain nominations for the 

20 vice-chair. 

21 MR. SINNER: Madam Chairman, I would 

22 like to nominate Chris Frederking for the 
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1 vice-chair position. 

2 MR. BIRD: Second. 

3 MS. GROVE: Chris, do you accept this? 

4 MR. FREDERKING: Yes. 

5 MS. GROVE: All right. All those in 

6 favor? 

7 MULTIPLE SPEAKERS: Aye. 

8 MS. GROVE: Any opposed? 

9 All right. Thank you. And thank you, 

10 Chris. 

11 And then I'd like to entertain a 

12 nomination for secretary. If somebody really 

13 wants to do it, you can nominate yourself. This 

14 is, again, a service to this committee and 

15 helping for our accuracy for our public. 

16 MR. ENGEL: I nominate Kia if she's 

17 willing to do it. 

18 PARTICIPANT: I'd second that. 

19 MS. ADAMS-MIKESH: I'll accept. 

20 MS. GROVE: All right. All those in 

21 favor of --

22 MULTIPLE SPEAKERS: Aye. 
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1 MS. GROVE: All right. Any opposed? 

2 All right. And that motion carries. 

3 Thank you all. Thank you for the considerations 

4 and help leading this committee in the coming 

5 year. 

6 So we've got 30 minutes slated for 

7 that. 

8 Really, the important piece, the next 

9 business item -- well, it was all important, but 

10 obviously, looking at us, what are those 

11 important agenda items that we need to start 

12 thinking of now? 

13 We talked yesterday that, you know, 

14 hey, we're right here upon September 1st, and if 

15 we wanted to get a second meeting in this year, 

16 that's in December. It seems like it might be 

17 pretty tough to get there, but we need to be 

18 prepared if we want to be able to make that 

19 happen. 

20 Because we need to be able to write in 

21 our industry issue proposals, and we have to have 

22 a 30-day time frame prior that we have to have 
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1 everything in so that Kendra can get it 

2 published, aside from she's got to get a meeting 

3 date approved. 

4 So with that, let's talk about our 

5 meeting agenda items. I'm going to put out a 

6 list that, as I was -- as we were going through 

7 the meetings and we talked about things these 

8 last two days, some things that I heard and if 

9 there's anything of those items that I know we've 

10 covered that. 

11 As far as business of the committee, 

12 I think we need to discuss first operations of 

13 this; and looking at our operations handbook, to 

14 include the fact that we do allow a hybrid option 

15 to maybe update that handbook to help put a 

16 little bit of protocol in there to make sure that 

17 if we are allowing that, that we have things in 

18 place to make sure it's efficient and it is a 

19 true quorum. It is truly engaged. 

20 So our operating procedures and also 

21 our quorum. We discussed we want that on there 

22 to maybe change the wording within the quorum. 
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1 And within that operating protocol, I think 

2 updating some things about our orientation and 

3 bringing in our new members to help us to 

4 understand how the committee operates. 

5 I know, Charlie, you had mentioned, 

6 hey, having been on here years ago, it operates 

7 differently. And we do want -- we do want 

8 everybody who comes into this first live meeting 

9 to understand how we operate and understand well 

10 in advance that this is a public forum. We -- we 

11 want transparency, so the day before the meeting, 

12 you can't just throw in -- throw in a topic; that 

13 we have some ways that we operate. 

14 MR. NEAL: Is it worse or better? 

15 MS. GROVE: I think it's controlled. 

16 Maybe it's -- maybe it can -- maybe if someone's 

17 been on before and doesn't know any different. I 

18 don't know any different. But to somebody who's 

19 been on before, this is maybe -- it could seem 

20 restrictive. 

21 But coming out of here with four very 

22 good talked-about proposals versus here's 17 to 
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1 20, and is that a reality or priority, I think we 

2 can bring all the issues we can, but everybody 

3 only has so much time and money. 

4 So Chris had brought up safety and 

5 safe work practices, consistency for our official 

6 agencies. Also, then that came into stowage 

7 camera and proposals on that that go in with 

8 safety or stowage technology options. Because a 

9 drone was brought up, also. So however that 

10 works. 

11 We requested data standards to stay 

12 open, and so -- and data standards and data 

13 security. We requested that lab scales stay open 

14 for updates for the next time. 

15 And let me ask: Does it have to be a 

16 specific agenda item if it's still considered an 

17 open and an open-ended proposal, like lab scales? 

18 There's things that we're asking for 

19 or data standards. Those are things that we're 

20 asking for, you know, short-term and long-term. 

21 Does that keep it open to have to be an agenda 

22 item? 
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1 Okay. All right. I just wanted to 

2 make sure. 

3 MR. NEAL: It should be an independent 

4 agenda item because you desire to have discussion 

5 around it, and you may want to form a 

6 recommendation on something related to it. 

7 MS. GROVE: Okay. I did have on here, 

8 because this started with the scales but may need 

9 to be a different item, the consistency with FGIS 

10 handbook and rules and NIST handbook. 

11 MR. MORGAN: On that, Barbara, you're 

12 talking about the equipment handbook? 

13 MS. GROVE: Yes. 

14 MR. MORGAN: Okay. 

15 MS. GROVE: Yes. I'll verify that. 

16 Thank you. 

17 So it would have to be an agenda item. 

18 If we feel we want to -- whether it's a 

19 technology subcommittee, which was a committee 

20 that was being worked on, whether it's 

21 technology, data standards, but we would need to 

22 have it as an agenda item if we feel that an 
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1 ongoing subcommittee to work on some of these 

2 issues to bring back to the committee would be 

3 needed. 

4 So we don't have a subcommittee just 

5 to have a subcommittee, but if we feel this is 

6 very important -- because I think the work -- you 

7 know, Curt and Janice and Nick and then Chris 

8 added to it, I think they were doing a lot of 

9 good industry outreach. We never made it a --

10 voted and made it an official subcommittee. 

11 So to continue that type of, you know, 

12 information gathering, do we feel that's 

13 important? And maybe, again, this is something we 

14 want to simmer on a little bit, and somebody 

15 could come back with something more relevant. Is 

16 that needed to, again, keep bringing this? 

17 And maybe, Janice, could you give us 

18 maybe just a little -- a summary of purpose of 

19 where you guys were going with this? 

20 MS. COOPER: And I can also forward 

21 the report that we submitted prior to the meeting 

22 in December because that laid out what we were 
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1 trying to accomplish. And then the comments that 

2 we received from industry. So I can forward 

3 those and -- just for review. 

4 On the technology issue, I think it's 

5 an ongoing item of interest, and whether to put 

6 it specifically on the agenda might be considered 

7 after the technology summit is held in November. 

8 And then review what those accomplishments and 

9 recommendations are and potentially place that on 

10 the agenda for further work. But I'll forward 

11 the report that we did. 

12 Basically, we were looking to gather 

13 comments about how to streamline the grading 

14 system by utilizing available technology. So 

15 I'll send that to you, Barb, and you can 

16 distribute it again. 

17 MS. GROVE: Okay. Thank you. 

18 And, you know, again, I like that 

19 thought, again, of, you know, there is a 

20 technology summit but not until November. So if 

21 it was even possible to get another meeting in 

22 this fiscal year, would that technology summit be 
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1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

too late to add an agenda item that maybe we --

because we can always scratch an item we -- if we 

first put something in and say we have nothing --

we have nothing to report at this time. That's 

feasible. 

MR. NEAL: Just a comment. Not 

knowing what's going to happen in October, if 

there's a government shutdown, that would 

probably impact our ability to prepare for 

another meeting this fall. Because we'll be 

trying to get things back up and running. We'll 

have lost a month -- or I won't say a month. 

Depending on how long it is, we lose time. 

We're still trying to close out and 

get new members nominated on the committee. They 

may or may not be nominated, may be approved or 

appointed by them. We could have a meeting with 

who we have, but new members will potentially not 

be appointed. So that's another impact of doing 

it too soon, just for consideration. 

MR. FRIANT: Hey, Arthur, can I ask a 

question on that? And it's kind of relative to 
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1 the -- well, the committee handbook and the 

2 committee charter and thinking about those as 

3 potential agenda items for the next meeting. 

4 It seems that one of the challenges 

5 today is the randomness with which new members 

6 get appointed. The announcement goes out when 

7 members are rolling off. Appointments are 

8 whenever the secretary completes them. Is there 

9 a way within the charter or somewhere in the 

10 system to say all new appointments start on 

11 January 1st and end, you know, December 31st, 

12 three years later? 

13 Like some way to bring some 

14 consistency to when members get on the committee? 

15 Which I know still is subject to working through 

16 the internal processes and the secretary 

17 appointing folks, but if nominations went out 

18 every February and new appointments began every 

19 January, like is there a place for that in the 

20 conversation? 

21 MS. GROVE: And I just would say that 

22 the conversation we had, you know, it was during 
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1 our business meeting. The committee operates on 

2 a calendar year, funded on a fiscal year, and 

3 nominations are whenever. So we don't -- it's 

4 hard to say somebody's -- you know, we may be in 

5 the middle of a year, and then you have five 

6 people rolling off in the middle of something. 

7 And I think that's where Nick was coming from. 

8 Can we start that, say -- yes, he may 

9 have approved -- or whoever the secretary of ag 

10 is approved them October 25th, but their term 

11 starts on January 1st. So we have a clear-cut 

12 line, then, just whenever they happen to have 

13 been approved. Some could be September; some 

14 could be November. Could be January if it was 

15 delayed. 

16 Is there some -- if we have it as an 

17 item, does that give you time to think about how 

18 that could -- could we do it? 

19 MR. NEAL: Yeah, I think we could 

20 think about it. I think at the end of the day, 

21 it's going to be up to the White House on how 

22 they want to facilitate that. So, I mean, you 
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1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

can say it. You can propose it. But at the end 

of the day, it's going to be how the 

administration controls their time for -- because 

that's not in statute. You see? 

The statute governs the time. It's a 

three-year appointment. So if they're appointed 

in January, who determines when their clock 

starts is going to be that administration. 

MR. FRIANT: How do other -- is that 

the same for all advisory committees? I know 

you've been involved on others. 

MR. NEAL: Yeah, when they're 

appointed, that's when their clock starts. 

That's across the board. So I don't know if 

they're going to adjust for one advisory 

committee. 

MS. GROVE: So is that something we 

would need to bring under the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act, a review of that entire act? 

MR. NEAL: So we've mentioned this 

before. So the challenge for us is, we never get 

to stop announcing nominations. We'd have to do 
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1 it every year. We do it now. 

2 So a lot of other committees, like 

3 organic, that's a five-year appointment. That 

4 gives them time to prepare, you know, so people 

5 aren't rolling off every year. You know what I'm 

6 saying? Because if someone is appointed for five, 

7 they are at least sitting on that committee for 

8 about two years' overlap before you have to 

9 appoint somebody else. 

10 Now, they have -- and I have 

11 experienced where people say, you know what? 

12 Life has gotten crazy. I have to resign. So you 

13 lose some people in that process during that five 

14 years, and life changes. But at least it doesn't 

15 keep us on a repeating cycle of advertising and 

16 asking people to apply and us have to go through 

17 this approval process. And that's a statutory 

18 change. 

19 MS. GROVE: All right. Because when 

20 we have people roll off, we roll off a large 

21 chunk at a time. That's a large chunk of 

22 experience and mentorship. So, yes, as an agenda 
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1 item, I guess maybe looking at that and how we 

2 can affect or change to have stability. 

3 Thank you. Thank you for that 

4 addition to that. 

5 Any other agenda items that people 

6 feel at this time? Those are just some things, 

7 again, as we went through our meetings, that I 

8 kind of picked up on. 

9 MS. COOPER: Did you have user fees on 

10 there? Budget. Kind of important. 

11 MS. GROVE: Yeah, we did on our 

12 recommendation as to keep it open. So sorry 

13 about that. 

14 I will enlist feedback, too, from our 

15 public, anybody that is online, anybody that's 

16 here in the room. You know, we had some good 

17 suggestions last year, and if you have a topic 

18 that feels near and dear to your heart that you 

19 really feel we need to, then we need to make sure 

20 to attach you with somebody on the committee to 

21 help write that to make sure it gets in on the 

22 agenda. 
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1 I think that's -- you know, last year, 

2 we did have -- or in December, we had numerous 

3 people in the gallery but then suggest things 

4 that didn't attach themselves to somebody to have 

5 the knowledge to write that agenda item or 

6 understand the background of it. So again, 

7 welcome anybody in the gallery that has a 

8 suggestion. 

9 And again, they don't have to be 

10 listed today. We just have to understand that 

11 before posting a meeting or -- Kendra needs to --

12 clearance for a meeting date. We have to have 

13 something in 30 days prior to that to post 

14 publicly. So if you have something, send it --

15 send it within our group e-mail soon or as soon 

16 as you think of it. 

17 Or again, go back to your industry 

18 sector and say what are some things that in the 

19 United States grain standard, what in the trade 

20 bills, what is that that is affecting our 

21 industry that we really should look at. 

22 All right. We will close that section 
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1 at this time. But again, be sure to add 

2 something next time and realize, if you -- if you 

3 bring an agenda item, be prepared to write the 

4 background of why and -- why we need to talk 

5 about it. 

6 At this time, Arthur, if you'd like to 

7 go up to the podium, we'd like to present 

8 certificates to those of our members that will be 

9 leaving the committee. 

10 And I want to say to all of you, thank 

11 you for, again, the time served for the 

12 mentorship. Many of you have served other times, 

13 and I think that is also important for people to 

14 come back even if you're away for a year or so, 

15 and you come back on. Because, again, that 

16 knowledge and that mentorship. 

17 And I certainly appreciate in this 

18 last year that guidance that I have gotten from 

19 members of you. That, to me, has helped me feel 

20 comfortable and confident in understanding what I 

21 need to do here and just being a part of this 

22 group. 
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1 So, Arthur, who he has -- so our 

2 outgoing members, and if you would go one at a 

3 time and stand up front with Arthur. 

4 MR. NEAL: Well, first, I'm going to 

5 concur or agree with what Barb has shared. Every 

6 member that serves on this committee has been 

7 amazing. 

8 The issues that we're discussing are 

9 important to this industry, and we can't make 

10 progress without you, not together. Because I 

11 think work that is performed happens best when 

12 there's agreement and there's collaboration, and 

13 so for the time that you've served, for the input 

14 that you've shared, for the representation that 

15 you've made, we just want to say thank you. 

16 This is not the end because you always 

17 have an opportunity to reapply to serve on this 

18 committee, and we would welcome you back anytime. 

19 

20 Engel. 

21 

22 

So first, I'd like to call up Mr. Curt 

Mr. Nick Friant. 

MR. FRIANT: Thank you. 
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1 MR. NEAL: Ms. Janice Cooper. 

2 Mr. Robert Sinner. 

3 Last but not least, Mr. Trainman, 

4 Jimmy Williams. 

5 MS. GROVE: Jimmy, is that -- where do 

6 I now fit in the bell curve, Curt? Because now 

7 I've got the feels thing going versus the works 

8 thing going. 

9 Unfortunately, I do get emotional on 

10 those things because when you meet people that 

11 impact you so positively, you know, to think 

12 about the next meeting, we're not going to be 

13 here to have someone lead us in phenomenal supper 

14 plans or scare the heck out of me because of 

15 their driving skills. 

16 You know, those, again, all make us a 

17 great group because we are here to, you know, not 

18 just bring our perspective but to know and 

19 understand each other. So very important. So 

20 thank you again. Thank you for this week, for 

21 all the time that you people put in ahead of time 

22 and putting in your industry proposals. 
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1 And thank you for then -- you know, I 

2 don't think people understand. It's like we 

3 don't just walk out of here after the session on 

4 Tuesday and, you know, just go have cocktails. 

5 There's work to be done in that evening. And in 

6 writing -- writing those proposals, they may look 

7 simple, but time and thought is put into what in 

8 reality is going to affect positively our 

9 industry. 

10 So again, thank you for your time. I 

11 look forward to the next. And we will probably 

12 have a group call in between time just to get us 

13 back together and make sure we stay on track. 

14 And thank you again for everybody that 

15 is in the room today. Thank you, FGIS, for your 

16 time and your attention and just bringing us 

17 those updates and helping -- what's going on, 

18 what's going on with you. So thank you very 

19 much. 

20 Arthur? 

21 MR. NEAL: Barbara, I just want to say 

22 thank you for your leadership. It's been superb. 
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1 It's been like a work of art, you orchestrating 

2 the meeting after events and everything. 

3 For the new members that have joined, 

4 I hope that you felt like your time has been 

5 spent well, really for everybody. Dr. Hurburgh, 

6 I appreciate the fact that you served on this 

7 committee before, and you have a different 

8 perspective of how it operated prior. 

9 I think that where we are, you know, 

10 given the conversations we've had over the past 

11 few days is, how do we improve? And I appreciate 

12 every person that's serving because you're part 

13 of a historical -- from my perspective, 

14 historical portion of the life of the grain 

15 industry. 

16 We're taking on some serious issues. 

17 They're not minor. They're not trivial, but it's 

18 to try to make us better. So I just want to say 

19 thank you for the time that you've spent, for 

20 every thought that you have when you're away from 

21 this place about a problem. Just thank you. I 

22 hope that you have safe travels home. 
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1 I just want to say thank you to the 

2 FGIS staff, as well, for your support. We look 

3 to see you soon. Take care. 

4 MS. GROVE: All right. Thank you. 

5 I would entertain a motion to adjourn. 

6 PARTICIPANT: Second. 

7 MS. GROVE: Thank you. I don't think 

8 we have any nays, but I think that's all we need. 

9 Thank you very much, and we will gather up front 

10 immediately for a picture. 

11 (Whereupon, the above-entitled matter 

12 went off the record at 10:44 a.m.) 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 
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A

a.m 1:4 2:2 84:12

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adjourn 84:5

adjust 32:20 75:15

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advance 67:10

advancements 5:12

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annually 44:3

anticipate 38:19

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apply 76:16

applying 22:10

appoint 76:9

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broad 10:13,17

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finalizing 6:12
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finally 17:10

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getting 3:21,21 21:2

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21:19 22:5,6,13 28:21

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53:17 62:14 63:18

65:4 66:15 67:3 77:21

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46:22 47:12 65:14
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67:6 72:21

high 16:6 48:22

higher 38:17

historical 39:4,10 83:13

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holds 30:8 59:9

home 83:22

homes 52:18

honest 44:1

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hopefully 13:21 14:3

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hourly 55:13

hours 39:7

House 74:21

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hundredth 9:9

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identify 9:3 12:2 13:1

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increase 32:17 39:6

40:20 41:3 43:8 47:1

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initiatives 14:5,17

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input 18:5 25:1 31:20

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inspection 1:1 6:8 8:17

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instruments 10:21

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integrity 30:6 59:7

intent 18:2,10 48:4 53:9

intentional 51:13

interest 71:5

internal 14:21 17:1

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internet 2:5

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Jimmy 1:19 81:4,5

job 13:22 63:3,16

John 1:17 38:10

joined 7:6 20:9 83:3

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22:19 24:8,22 25:7,10

26:6,22 27:7,14 30:18

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large 76:20,21

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leadership 82:22

leading 40:3 65:4

learn 3:8

leaving 20:6 79:9

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left 45:2

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life 76:12,14 83:14

likes 60:16,16

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limits 17:17

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loan-based 23:3

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34:20 35:19 54:10

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machines 12:6

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middle 74:5,6

million 40:18

mind 3:1 15:19 53:1

mindset 51:9

minimize 51:5

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minus 9:17 34:2

minute 40:15 55:1

minutes 2:4 4:21 65:6

minutiae 35:1

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31:19 33:21 34:12

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NGFA 36:15 39:18

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nomination 63:6 64:12

nominations 62:22

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offer 5:10 25:13

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opportunities 23:11

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organic 76:3

organization 26:3

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overlap 76:8

oversee 62:11

P

P-R-O-C-E-E-D-I-N-G-S

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79:21 83:12

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presentation 22:17

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presentations 46:4

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priority 21:16,17 26:18

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probably 16:11 23:3

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problem 49:6,8 58:2

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procedure 3:15

procedures 66:20

process 53:3,4,14 54:7

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processes 54:9 73:16

producers 48:20 60:19

productive 48:5

program 1:10 23:17

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programs 22:18,20,22

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projects 15:1,5,6 17:3,7

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proof 24:19

proper 8:19

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proposal 8:3,12 9:20

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proposals 4:19 34:7

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propose 75:1

proposed 6:10,21

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protocol 66:16 67:1

protocols 14:11,12

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31:8

proven 38:22

provide 22:7 49:3

providing 17:18

public 4:3,4,16 13:5

22:20 33:20 36:2

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published 66:2

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purpose 70:18

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21:4,9,10 22:1 32:8

38:11 45:20 50:5

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42:7 46:8 50:2 51:6

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receive 48:3

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recognizing 37:18 45:8

recommendation 9:2

10:2 14:10 16:13

17:16 20:17,22 27:11

33:20,21 34:16 35:2
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60:2

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84:12

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references 39:4

referencing 11:13

reflect 33:1

refusals 8:10

regarding 8:19 14:6

regardless 33:13 37:6

regulations 32:21

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relationships 3:9,18

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represent 46:18

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48:1

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52:1,3

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scenario 34:1

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Schedule 53:7 54:11

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Science 1:13

Scientific 24:19

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session 82:3

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setting 10:20 26:18

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short 30:14 34:17 36:17

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simple 82:7

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48:8 54:21 55:17 63:6

63:21 81:2

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situation 30:3 33:14

48:6 59:3

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slated 65:6

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83:19

spirit 46:19

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spread 51:4

stability 77:2

staff 50:22 84:2

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stakeholders 6:14

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standardization 14:7,9

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17:3,6

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68:12,19 69:21

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start 4:2 5:1,18 20:15

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state 37:7 62:11

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states 1:1 50:10 62:9

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statistical 9:12

statistically 9:5

status 14:16 16:19

statute 75:4,5

statutory 76:17

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steps 43:2

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streamline 53:3,9 71:13

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20:16,20 21:3 25:14

25:18 26:7,13,16 27:2

69:19 70:1,4,5,10

subject 73:15

subjects 14:6

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suggest 33:1 78:3

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suggesting 10:10

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summit 71:7,20,22

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table 3:22 4:5 6:15,20

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three-year 75:6

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timeline 35:4 39:2

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timing 17:17 37:19

today 4:15 5:19 19:10

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totally 38:8

totals 50:7

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truly 66:19

trust 3:13

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46:19 47:2,12 62:3
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United 1:1 78:19

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unofficial 19:17

update 28:14 66:15

updates 31:11 68:14

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updating 67:2

upset 45:8

urgency 35:6 36:13

38:6,7,9 59:3

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valid 46:10

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verbiage 24:1 37:22

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versus 9:7 30:5 45:17

53:6 59:5 67:22 81:7

vessel 4:20

vessels 6:17

vice-chair 62:10,12

63:14,20 64:1

virtually 7:20

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vote 7:16,22 8:7 13:10

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80:15 82:21 83:18

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word-smithed 20:17

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X

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yay 7:22

yea 8:7,9

yeah 16:10 22:14 25:2

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40:10 46:4 51:20

53:18 55:4,17 58:20

74:19 75:12 77:11

year 34:2 35:19,20

43:18 56:1 65:5,15

71:22 74:2,2,5 76:1,5

77:17 78:1 79:14,18

year-end 38:20

years 31:7 46:6 49:16

50:4,4 67:6 73:12

76:14

years' 76:8

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yeses 29:13

yesterday 2:11 4:5 5:22

6:22 7:6 20:2 22:17

26:2 28:11,15 30:17

31:6,12 35:7 39:12

42:1 43:7 44:14 48:17

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2

20 68:1

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2023 1:4

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3

3 6:15,20 34:1

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4

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5

5 6:11,20,21 40:19

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(202) 234-4433 

NEAL R. GROSS

COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 

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C E R T I F I C A T E 

This is to certify that the foregoing transcript 

In the matter of: 

Before: 

Date: 

Place: 

was duly recorded and accurately transcribed under 

my direction; further, that said transcript is a 

true and accurate DPNQMFUFrecord of the 

proceedings. 

-----------------------

Court Reporter 

95

Grain Inspection Advisory Committee

USDA

08-31-23

Kansas City, MO