The Rural Voice, 1994-09, Page 18Shore to ship
Goderich Elevators plays a large
part in helping to get western
Ontario crops to their final
destination around the world
Story and Photos by Keith Roulston
The Oakglen unloads a load of western grain al Goderich.
14 THE RURAL VOICE
n the coming weeks a lot of rural western Ontario
residents will be spending hours down by the lake in
Godcrich, but they$on't be taking advantage of there
being plenty of space on the beach now that summer
crowds have disappeared. They will be truckers and
farmers holding their place in line to deliver this season's
big crops of wheat and corn and soybeans to Goderich
Elevators Limited for eventual shipment all around the
world.
The Goderich port elevator, hidden away as it is on the
Lake Huron shoreline, is an often forgotten part of the
marketing of western Ontario crops but as only port on
Lake Huron for grain, both outgoing and incoming, it plays
an important role in farming in the region.
The elevator serves a 60-80 mile radius around
Godcrich says Eric Kirk, president of Godcrich Elevators
Limited, acting as a warehousing operation for the
collection of wheat, corn and soybeans from the farms in
the region and also as a receiver of western grains, both
durum for local milling operations and feed wheat for the
farms and feed mills of the region.
The elevator acts as receiving agent for the Ontario
Wheat Producers' Marketing Board collecting wheat from
farms and country elevators. For other commodities, the
elevator usually warehouses for a broker.
In receiving grains by truck the elevator has five
receiving pits and has received as much at 6,000 tonnes a
day, but it is an indication of the size of the western
Ontario crop that the line up of trucks in peak harvesting
seasons still sometimes fills the parking lot, the nearby
street and part way up the harbour hill.
When grain arrives from the farm or country elevator
the first step is to establish the quality and quantity of the
truck's cargo. If the truck holds wheat, the producer must
fill out an Ontario Wheat Producers' Marketing Board
form.
A large shed near the beach holds the testing facilities.
The trucks pull in and a staff member uses a probe to take
samples from throughout the load. The samples go to the
upstairs lab where they are tested for grade, dockage (the
amount of small kernels, broken kernels and general
garbage) and moisture. If the wheat is hard red wheat for
milling, a protein test will also be taken. In some cases
testing for insect infestations is also done. The "specs" of
the grain are written on the bill of lading. Samples of the
grain are also kept if there is any dispute with the trucker
over the grading and samples are sent to the Canadian
Grain Commission in Chatham for arbitration.
Next, although only after a wait in the busy harvest
season, comes a trip to one of two scales to determine the
weight of the cargo. The truck goes on to the designated
dumping pit at one of the two elevator complexes where
the grain is whisked away through conveyors and up into
the various bins within the huge elevators. The grain can be
stored until there is time available in the cleaner. Then the
grain will be run through the cleaner and back to another
bin.
High atop the cement silos of the western -most terminal,
huge conveyor belts help speed the grain from one part of
the complex to another, dumping the grain into the bins,
like giant cells in a honeycomb, which stretch all the way