By Laura Temple
Soybean Research & Information Network
Soybeans receive a quality grade of 1 through 5 as they enter the supply chain. That grade has implications for contract fulfillment and the price farmers earn for those soybeans – but that rating can be subjective.
“We heard stories from Louisiana farmers of delivering soybeans to an elevator and believing their soybeans were higher quality than the grade received, so they would go to a different elevator,” explains Kevin Hoffseth, assistant professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Louisiana State University AgCenter. “One truckload of soybeans could receive three significantly different grades at three different delivery locations. That isn’t efficient for farmers or the soybean supply chain.”
Hoffseth believes digital image processing can provide tools to help grain inspectors grade soybeans more efficiently and consistently. He notes that significant research has been done to use images of soybean plants to address agronomic issues, but much less research has been done on images of soybeans related to inspection and grading. He is leading a research project funded by the Louisiana Soybean and Grain Research and Promotion Board to harness the power of automated computer processing to improve soybean grading.