Why Use the Amarillo Grain Exchange, Inc.

The Amarillo Grain Exchange, Inc. is a privately owned, federally supervised grain inspection agency. Because grain is such an essential source of the world’s total food supply and is traded in both domestic & export markets, Congress created the Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) to manage the national grain inspection system. The goal of creating a single Federal grain inspection entity was to ensure the development & maintenance of uniform U.S. standards, to develop inspection and weighing procedures for grain, and to facilitate grain marketing.

The Amarillo Grain Exchange, Inc. has been authorized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s FGIS to perform official services within a specified area. This designation allows Amarillo Grain Exchange, Inc. to officially sample and inspect grain under the United States Grain Standards Act (USGSA). The Amarillo Grain Exchange, Inc. provides farmers, grain handlers, processors, merchandisers and buyers in both the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles with accurate and consistent grain inspection.

The Amarillo Grain Exchange, Inc. will issue a valid official certificate showing the official number grade of the lot of grain. When our licensed personnel sample and inspect a carrier, a white certificate is issued as evidence that the grade is representative to the entire lot. When a sample is taken and then submitted to our official lab by an applicant, a pink certificate is issued, showing that the grade is only representing the quantity of grain submitted to our agency. If an interested party is unhappy with the inspection results, a re-inspection can be called. And/or since the Amarillo Grain Exchange, Inc. is a federally licensed agency, a federal appeal can also be called. The local FGIS Field Office would perform the appeal inspection. If a party is still dissatisfied with these results, a BAR Appeal can be called; the FGIS Board of Appeals and Review in Kansas City would perform this inspection.

An official inspection can guarantee that both the buyer and the seller are satisfied. Because problems or inconsistencies can be corrected prior to shipment the seller is assured that he has met contract specifications, therefore getting paid for what he delivers. And the buyer is guaranteed that he is getting the quality that he has paid for.

An officially designated agency is, in effect, an authorized extension of the FGIS. Officially licensed personnel and the regulation of such personnel assure the complete uniformity of grading procedures, competency and training. Mechanical determinations are made with check-tested and approved equipment. Interpretative lines, which are so important, are continuously monitored. Supervision of official file samples provides a constant check of all grading functions. With the constant supervision of the total official grading process, the integrity is not as subject to intimidation because official supervision supports the results. This system was established to strengthen the integrity of the inspection and weighing of grain, anything less than the above mentioned points, weakens the whole purpose of the Official system and the United States Grain Standards Act.