Figure 3: Janet Brady-Fox, BDG’s Test Grading Department Lead, with a Brown Spot example. Photo credit: Jake Sonke
Figure 4: Brady-Fox grading an almond sample. Photo credit: Jake Sonke
Once the product is successfully delivered to Blue Diamond Growers , what happens next ? The first step before your product even shows up to the test room is a sample is taken at delivery. The sample is taken from a continuous flow that represents the entire load. This “continuous-flow method gives the most random and fair sample for your delivery. The sample size varies depending on the size of delivery (i.e., the larger the load, the larger the sample). Once the sample is received at the test room, it is randomly reduced and split into two samples. A “Test Sample” for the initial grading and the “Reference Sample” is held at Blue Diamond Growers in case the grower would like a retest on their initial grade. To establish a grade, the first sample is assessed by a trained grader inside the test room. The grader is trained to look for rejects such as Navel Orangeworm, Brown Spot, and Ant damage. It also separates chipped and scratched nuts, foreign material and doubles. After everything is identified in the sample, the gram weight of each component is established. We use gram weights rather than ounces because this metric gives us a more accurate unit of measure (28.3 grams equal one ounce). The gram weights are entered into our payment system and are used to determine the percentages that you see on your delivery statement. The quality adjustments
(premiums or deductions) come from the percentages of rejects, foreign material, chipped and scratched, and doubles. Please refer to the 2023 Crop Delivery Guide for detailed information about grading practices and standards. We at Blue Diamond Growers hope this answers some questions about what happens to your product once we receive it. If you have any questions about your deliveries during this year's harvest, please reach out to your Regional Manager. We are your best resource at finding any problems that may arise and will fix those problems quickly and efficiently.
Trent Voss, Regional Manager, Blue Diamond Growers
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JULY–AUGUST 2023
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