Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1920-09-17
THE NORTH DAKOTA
GRAIN GRADING LAW.
Its Operation Adds to Expense Of
Marketing Grain-Farmer is
the Goat

writer 10 make inquiry OF grain buy
ers for private-owned, corporation
owned, and farmer-owned elevators,
as to just how much, if any, bene-
fit the farmers are receiving from
this law, and to our surprise we
have learned that instead of benefit
ting the farmer it is actually adding
another item of expense to market
ing his grain.
These buyers, without excep-
ton, and from one end of the state
to the other, tell the same story.
We believe these men are in a posi-
ton to know whether the farmer is
benefited or injured thru the opera
tion of this law. We also believe
that these grain buyers, like all good
business men, are honest; for if they
were not honest they might be en-
gagged in the more remunerative oc-
cupation of trying to get farmers to
bet SIG to nothing that certain
organization would succeed in knock
ing their state constitution into a
cooked hat" and rob her of her fin
ancial resources before the voters
would get their eyes opened.
The North Dakota grain grading
law as passed by the 1919 legislative
assembly, provides that the governor
shall appoint for term of four years
a State Grain Inspector from among
the members of the faculty Of the
North Dakota Agricultural College
(who is expert in grading and
weighing all kinds of grain.) This
State Inspector of Grades, Weights
and Measures is empowered to ap-
point a Chief Deputy Inspector;
Chief Elevator Accountant; State
Deputy Inspector; Warehouse In
spector, and Deputy Inspectors, and
employ such other help as he deems
necessary to carry out the provi-
sions of the act, fix their salaries and
fix and approve bonds; establish
rules and regulations for grading,
weighing and handling grain, seeds
and other agricultural products. In
fact the State Inspector of Grades
has all the power it is possible to
delegate to: any one man by legis-
|
keting of grain is concerned in
North Dakota.
Grain buyers in North Dakota are,
at present, operating under the State
Inspectors ukase, known as amend
ed rule No. T., which provides, in
part:
valuable dockage shall include
dockage having per cent or more
Of wheat, rye, fax seed, oats, wild
oats, pigeon grass, mustard, water
grass, buckwheat, speltz, emmer,
millet seed, alfalfa seed, barley, corn,
wild peas, timothy seed or any grain
or seeds having feed value, either
singly or combined"
"Dockage of no value in wheat,
rye or flax seed includes sand, dirt,
weed stems, straw stems, wild onion,
wild rose, cookie, kingsheads or any
other material that has no feed
value
when grain is delivered at the
elevator the manager or licensed in
spectOr may clean the grain and re-
turn the dockage to the farmer and
charge two cents per bushel for
cleaning wheat and four cents per
bushel for fax. The licensed in
spector shall, after determining the
total dockage and that which is of
value, state the price he will pay
for the dockage. The owner of the
dockage on the other hand may de-
cline the price and demand the re-
turn Of the same amount of dock
age of like quality and on payment
for the cleaning of the wheat, rye
or fax shall have the dockage re-
turned to him."
ga shrinkage of 2 per cent shall
be allowed on wheat weighing more
than 53 pounds per bushel. Wheat
testing 53 pounds or less per bushel
shall be allowed a shrinkage of 3
per cent. On all fax there shall be
allowed a shrinkage of per cent,
the shrinkage to be computed on
basis of gross pounds of the grain or
seed received"
- Now that don't look so bad, does
it? And it would appear that the
farmer might be getting paid for
something he had not in years past
been paid for-dockage, but such Is
not the case. The farmer HAS been
getting paid for his dockage. Com
petition in grain buying has for
years been very keen and where the
farmer had dockage of value grain
, buyers have been allowing him its
value in less dockage. For instance,
, supposing grain contained 8 pounds
per bushel dockage, instead of dock
ing pounds the buyer would dock
Continued on Page 12.)