Prairie farmers are benefiting from the work being done at the Canadian Wheat Board's grain teseting lab, according to the CWB's quality control manager.

"The costs of getting these tests done is reduced, but also and probably as important, the turnaround times are quick because we can prioritize the samples that we analyze," says Lawrence Klusa.

The lab was opened in 2009 at the University of Saskatchewan campus in Saskatoon with the intent of saving farmers' money by helping the board meet its grading and testing needs in a timely fashion.

Klusa says the post-harvest season is a very busy time. "We collect samples from on-farm and from grain elevators to get an idea of what the current crop is like. We look at a number of different factors including falling number and mycotoxin levels."

"We then provide this information back to our sales team so that they are able to provide this information to customers."

~ Monday, November 22, 2010 ~