Quality of Canadian Soybean, oilseed-type 2020

Harvest samples

In 2020, the Canadian Grain Commission’s Harvest Sample Program received 506 soybean samples (386 in 2019): 21 were from the Maritimes (15 in 2019), 265 were from eastern Canada (219 in 2019) and 220 (152 in 2019) from western Canada (Table 3). Canadian Grain Commission inspectors graded these samples according to the Official Grain Grading Guide. In 2020, 91.7% of the submitted samples were in the top two grades (96.4% in 2019), while 8.3% of the samples were graded as No. 3 Canada or lower. The grade distribution was not quite the same between eastern and western Canada. 96.5% of the samples from the east (Maritimes, Ontario, and Quebec) were graded Soybean, No. 1 and No. 2 Canada in comparison to 85.5% from the west (Manitoba and Saskatchewan).

Key quality factors for oilseed-type soybeans are oil content, protein content, free fatty acids (FFA), chlorophyll and fatty acid composition. Oil and protein content give quantitative estimates of the beans as a source of oil and of the defatted meal as a source of protein for animal feed. Fatty acid composition provides information about the nutritional, physical and chemical characteristics of the oil extracted from the beans.

Individual samples were analyzed for oil and protein content using a FOSS DS2500 near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer, calibrated and verified against the appropriate samples analyzed by reference methods. Grade composite samples were analyzed by reference methods for oil, protein, FFA, chlorophyll and fatty acid composition. The reference procedures are listed on the Canadian Grain Commission’s website.