All exported grain must be officially Class X weighed. Domestic shipments may be Class X or Class Y weighed. Class X weighing is 100 percent supervised by licensed official personnel, who then issue an official "white" certificate. Class Y weighing is performed by elevator personnel who do the weighing and issue "yellow" certificates.

Official Weighing is when official personnel (GIPSA, State, or private employees licensed by GIPSA) determine and certify the quantity of a lot of grain. The official agency in the elevator's area weighs or observes the weighing by physical supervision and monitors the discharge of grain through the scales, out of the elevator, into a carrier.

Upon request of an applicant, GIPSA can provide Class Y (Official) weighing service under the United States Grain Standards Act (Act). Approved elevator weighing personnel perform the weighing using GIPSA approved scales under GIPSA supervision. Supervision is provided by GIPSA employees or a designated agency in an elevator's area. They (designated agencies) establish the cost for this service and submit their fees to GIPSA for approval.

After an elevator decides it wants service, a written request to its local GIPSA FGIS Field Office must include:

To qualify for official weighing, the elevator must comply with the applicable requirements of the regulations and instructions under the Act. This includes:

For Class X or Y certification approval, the field office or designated agency will survey the grain flow system to assure that all grain weighed can be delivered to the carrier without loss. Also, a GIPSA scale specialist will test and assure your scale (s) meets official and commercial requirements.

If you would like additional information, please contact Martin Begley, FGIS, Policies and Procedures Branch, via e-mail at martin.a.begley@usda.gov or by telephone at 202.720.0226.

GIPSA provides official testing on a variety of scales such as railway track, vehicle, and hopper scales. This service is performed by official personnel or by one of the delegated state agencies that does the scale testing for GIPSA. States who do the testing for GIPSA are Virginia, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Washington and California.

To provide railway track scale testing, GIPSA uses one of the agency's three test cars, each of which carries at least 100,000 pounds of certified test weights. GIPSA also provides railway track scale testing to other industries outside of the grain industry for a reimbursable fee.

GIPSA is accredited under the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Office of Weights and Measures program for State Weights and Measures Laboratories. This means that in our areas of accreditation, we meet the same high standards as State Metrology Laboratories. We tolerance test Class F commercial field standard weights from 25 to 10,000 pounds, and the results are traceable to the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

GIPSA provides field testing of large block weights to Class F tolerances, at grain elevators or other sites where transport of the large weights to a laboratory would be too difficult. We use a portable electronic mass comparator set up at the elevator to check the value of the blocks against a summation standard we assemble at the elevator.

If you would like additional information, please contact Bill Bates, FGIS, Policies and Procedures Branch, via e-mail at william.e.bates@usda.gov or by telephone at 202.720.0226.

As part of the official scale testing program, the FGIS owns and operates five specially designed and built railroad track scale test cars for testing grain industry railroad track scales. The test cars are maintained and operated out of the FMD Master Scale Depot, which is located at the Belt Line railroad yard in Chicago, Illinois.

This facility contains the number one master scale and test standards which are used to calibrate the test car weights and provide traceability from the NIST to all commercial railroad track scales in the U.S. As an accommodation, FGIS also tests a wide variety of large weights and standards for private companies on a time available and cost recovery basis.

Under an agreement with the Association of American Railroads, FGIS annually tests all master scales and performs a number of field calibrations associated with the program.

If you would like additional information, please contact Byron School, FGIS, Policies and Procedures Branch, via e-mail at byron.c.school@usda.gov or by telephone at 202.720.0226.

A review of weighing service is a formal review of weighing documentation pertaining to a specific weight certificate. The review includes a detailed evaluation of weight logs, scale tapes, scale history, and other documentation and, if necessary, consultation with individuals involved with the actual weighing. A scale testing official does this review if possible.

The review of weighing service, is performed when requested by an interested person on domestic shipments. An "interested person" is defined as any person having a contract or other financial interest in grain as the owner, seller, purchaser, warehouseman, carrier, or otherwise. Persons who are employed by or represent carriers in the capacity of investigating claims against the carrier regarding the weight are considered "interested persons."

Export weight inquiries are forwarded by field offices to FGIS' International Monitoring Staff.

Requests must be filed within 90 days after the date of the Class X or Class Y weighing service with the FGIS field office or agency that conducted the original service.

The request is considered filed when the oral or written request is received by the field office or agency.

The review of weighing is conducted by the office that performed the official service.

Since 1989, FGIS has been encouraging export elevators to install automated systems to monitor grain flow paths, maintain weight records, and activate alarms and shut-down devices, if necessary. Such systems can monitor flow paths more diligently than humans and are less likely to record erroneous weights. In addition, they can prompt personnel to perform scale checks and reduce the need for inspection personnel to visit sites inside the elevator. As entering the elevator always involves some risk, an automated system improves safety. The elevator benefits because a properly functioning automation system allows FGIS to operate with a smaller inspection team, and hence charge smaller fees.

The elevator is responsible for contracting for the design and installation of the official automated system because it must be integrated with the elevator's own control system. FGIS advises the elevator and contractors during the development of the system, and carefully checks out the system for security and functionality before approving its use. FGIS assumes control of the automated system after its approval. Repairs and upgrades are made by the elevator's automation contractor, but must be approved beforehand and checked out afterward by FGIS.

Eight export elevators' systems have been approved. Four more automated weighing systems are in development.

If you would like additional information, please contact Nelson Buck, FGIS, Policies and Procedures Branch, via e-mail at nelson.l.buck@usda.gov or by telephone at 202.720.0226.