News

For generations, grading grain has followed the same basic script: An inspector takes a sample of grain, looks it over, mentally compares it to all the grain he's seen before, and gives it a grade.

Of course, the local inspector and the port inspector could have quite different ideas of what makes a No. 2 Red, planting a measure of uncertainty for producers in the process.

Over the years, machines have sprouted up that objectively analyze the protein and moisture content inside grain, but visual inspection for frost, mildew and disease damage has always relied on a pair of subjective human eyes.

Until now.

DuPont Canada Inc., along with Agriculture Canada and several Canadian companies, has developed a new device that uses digital imaging and artificial neural networks to visually analyze and grade grain. It won't replace human grain inspectors, at least not in Canada, but DuPont hopes the technology will become a valuable tool around the globe.

"One of the things we're always looking for in the grain industry is consistency," said Murdoch MacKay, vice-president of operations for Agricore United, Canada's largest grain company, which is currently trying out two of DuPont's Acurum machines. "We're thinking Acurum could take the subjectivity out of grain grading."

The idea for the Acurum first took root in the mid-1990s, when scientists studying plant disease at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada were seeking a consistent way to recognize and define wheat diseases such as root rot.

They hit upon the idea of using artificial neural networks -- artificial intelligence that mimics human brain function -- to analyze samples against a massive "memory" of digital images.

"To be able to evaluate objectively is so much better than subjectively," said Eric Kokko, the scientist who developed the technology at Agriculture Canada. "The human eye can only pick up so much," he noted, but the Acurum combines super-detailed digital imaging with a human brain-like ability "to see and recognize and learn."

It worked, and the marketers at Agriculture Canada started thinking about finding a commercial application for the technology.

"We started to hear stories about some challenges in the grain industry in terms of grading, so the scientists started to develop it to look at grain, particularly wheat," said Glenn Coulter, marketing and licensing manager at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

The department shopped the technology around to Canadian companies, but for a while none were interested.

DuPont Canada jumped on the project in 2001 and developed it for commercial use. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada holds the patents, and DuPont holds the exclusive licence for commercial use.

After signing on, DuPont got to work on refining the technology and building a database of grain images. The allure of the technology was that it promised greater consistency for grain grading, said Ward Metzler, DuPont's business manager for Acurum. About 10 per cent of the time, he said, grain gets a different grade at the local elevator and at the port.

One challenge is that some factors grain inspectors look for -- midge damage, for instance -- might happen only once every five years or less.

So a new inspector and a seasoned inspector might see the grain differently, based on their experience. That can create financial uncertainty for farmers.

"A key advantage is the Acurum can look at a much larger sample, so you'll get the same results no matter where you are," Mr. Metzler said.

Linnet, a Winnipeg-based agriculture software-development company, worked with DuPont to create the database for the Acurum. (Linnet has since merged with Ansera Resources Inc.)

"There's various types of testing firms, but nobody has done the visual analysis this system is capable of," said Linnet CEO Bruce Graham. "The wheat industry seems to be pretty excited about this in terms of the new technology."

Agricore United is using Acurum machines in its quality control facilities in Winnipeg and Vancouver, and has plans to place four more at its operations across the country.

"Overall we're very impressed with some of the early results we've seen," said Pat Greer, quality control manager at Agricore.

One of the Acurum's potential advantages is that it can go into far more detail than the simple 1-to-4 grading system used by Canada's Grain Commission. Customers are becoming more and more specific in their requests, Mr. Metzler said: "There's an evolution happening in the grain industry."

The machine might also help improve food safety, said Mr. MacKay at Agricore. Fusarium damage, for example, is a wheat disease that shows up in visual inspections. The neurotoxins caused by fusarium can kill livestock and make humans sick. "This machine has the ability to tell us fairly accurately what the fusarium damage is," Mr. MacKay said.

Though the wheat industry does seem interested in the Acurum device, no one is predicting it will supplant grain inspectors. "In no way will the machine replace the human being," Mr. MacKay said.

The Canadian Grain Commission is evaluating the Acurum machines as a possible tool to help inspectors do their jobs, said Randy Dennis, chief grain inspector. He said inspectors have been fretting about "black box" machines taking their jobs ever since he started work in the 1970s, but it hasn't happened yet.

"I look at it really as complementary to what the inspector is doing," Mr. Dennis said.

The grain commission isn't yet ready to incorporate the Acurum into the official grading system, he said, but he can see the potential advantages.

"It's promising, for sure," Mr. Dennis said. "The No. 1 advantage would be consistency between inspectors. An inspector in Vancouver would have the same piece of technology as one in Montreal."

So far, companies such as Agricore are using the Acurum for their own internal quality control. DuPont rents the machines to customers, charging on a per-use basis. About 20 are in use across Canada, and DuPont sees a Canadian market potential for about 150, Mr. Metzler said, with "significantly more in other countries."

DuPont is negotiating with grain producers in Europe and Australia. The company is also looking to expand the Acurum's reach to work on crops like green lentils and even non-agricultural products such as plastic pellets.

"It's an exciting Canadian development, and it's definitely got global potential," Mr. Metzler said.

About Acurum

The old school: Grain inspector picks up a handful of grain, looks for signs of mildew, frost and other damage, and grades it on a scale of one to four.

A new tool: The DuPont Acurum

uses digital imaging and artificial

intelligence to analyze and grade grain on a much more detailed

level.

How it works: Pour your grain sample into the Acurum and its digital eye measures texture, size and colour while its artificial neural networks determine a grade.

Why people want it: Grain grading can be inconsistent because every inspector's judgment varies slightly. That means financial uncertainty for producers. The Acurum, with its centralized "brain," promises to take the subjectivity out of grading.