Grain Quality Assurance
You will be well aware that there has been an increasing emphasis on Quality Assurance and Traceability at all levels in the food chain over recent years. As manufacturers of Animal Feedstuffs, we have a responsibility to the final consumer. We take this responsibility very seriously. We are members of the Irish Grain Assurance Scheme (IGAS) and require all our grain suppliers to partake in this scheme. This is the Quality Assurance Scheme set up a few years ago for the entire Irish Grain and Feed industry.
Membership involves maintaining defined standards of grain growing, grain handling and grain storage. For our grain suppliers, membership involves adhering to these standards & keeping appropriate records of all inputs used, application timings and rates, transport & storage hygiene practices etc. An annual membership fee is payable to the administrators of the scheme.
A lot of our grain suppliers and indeed the majority of grain growers in the country are already IGAS members. Non participation in IGAS going forward would severely restrict the marketing options open to us for our grain & feed products. The dioxin scare of late 2008 really concentrated minds in this regard.
So if you intend to supply us with grain, we require your participation in the IGAS scheme. This means annual fee of approximately € 55 plus 21% VAT (€ 66.55) will be deducted from your account after each harvest. This fee is payable in total, to Cropsure Ltd., the appointed administrators and auditors of the scheme.
As mentioned already, IGAS membership will be a requirement for all our grain suppliers every year from now on, so unless otherwise instructed by you, we propose to deduct a similar fee from your trading account after each harvest from now on.
We fully recognise that the immediate future of grain growing is currently being questioned & that the last thing you need right now, is further expense and paperwork. However if we are to continue being able to successfully trade grain & animal feedstuffs, IGAS accreditation is absolutely essential.