AVL news, page-771

Whatever crop they are planting near the processing plant will have to go through the CBH Group gatehouse for a quality test prior to handover.

The quality test is for determining the grade of the grain which then determines the price paid to the farmer.

CBH assess the grain for defects like frost damage, insect damage, poor colour, fungus/organic maladies, evidence of fungicide and weed prevalence. If the grain is clean of these then the grain protein determines the final grade. Grades are then stored separately on site until they are sold on market and exported.

CBH will not test for mineral contamination from the processing plant. However, I do forsee farmers kicking up a stink (rightfully so) if there is a significant change to the crop yield in those fields directly near the plant and it can be linked to the plant itself. The complexity is that grain in one paddock can be vastly different to the grain in another a short difference away for many (many) reasons. Soil, rain etc.

It'll be messy if AVL ever go down the route of negotiating around grain quality/yield. Best to insure against (monetary compo or site engineering solution) and move on.