For the next few weeks, commodity inspectors will look at 1.2 million tons of product, making sure potatoes and onions make the grade for processors and consumers. We provide a specific service at the request of the industry. From the Columbia Basin to Malheur County to the Klamath Basin, inspectors are working long days to ensure both growers and the companies they sell to are meeting the terms of their contracts. The same inspection also helps consumers. Fresh market potatoes and onions are inspected by ODA for compliance with federal marketing orders, which stipulate characteristics the commodity must have in order to achieve a certain grade, including size and quality.
Quality assurance is provided for the packer as well as the processor.
For potatoes and onions bound for processing, the commodity is checked against terms of the contract that binds the grower and the processor. We pull a representative sample of the product that comes into the plant. We do the grading and the calculations to produce a grade certificate. The grower is paid based on the figures we come up with. Of course, the higher the quality of product, the more money the grower receives for the crop.