Grain inspections are here; inspectors are out in the field ensuring that each variety is showing its true characteristics. In each field, inspectors must check isolation borders, weed and disease control, if any forbidden crops are present in the field, as well as taking 1,000 plant counts to check the variety.
In the field below, the variety was described as red kernel, white chaff. When walking through each field you want to scan the field, making sure there are no surprises. The pictures below give you a better idea of what we are looking for in the fields. There were bronze chaff wheat heads in a white chaff variety. Even though it is still green and not completely dried down for harvest, you can see that the bronze chaff wheat heads stick out like a sore thumb in a field of white chaff heads.
There are state and national certification standards that outline the tolerance levels for Certified seed fields. So even though some bronze heads were found, they were below the tolerance for other varieties, and therefore meets the requirements for certification.
