Agricultural Commodity Grader (Grain), 1980

Department of Agriculture

Individual Occupational Requirements

Education

Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- any field that included 9 semester hours or the equivalent in agriculture, botany, crop production, agronomy, product processing, food chemistry, technology, quality control, or other related subjects.

OR

Experience

General Experience: Experience that provided familiarity with the standard methods or practices related to the product's processing, storage, transportation, quality control techniques, or marketing in terms of the effects such factors have on product quality. This experience may have been gained in work such as:

• Agricultural production (farming, growing, or raising) that provided a knowledge of grading and the quality factors related to grading of grain and/or grain products.
• Inspector for producers of grain/grain products, dealers, official or private inspection agencies, transportation companies, or similar organizations that involved the application of commercial or Federal quality standards.
• College teacher, researcher, or extension service worker involved with subjects related to the factors and conditions affecting the quality of grain/grain products.
• Wholesale or retail buyer or salesperson work involving grain/grain products that required a knowledge of grades, quality factors, and the effects of various processing, storage, and transportation conditions on product quality.
• Employment in a food processing plant, warehouse, or similar facility that involved administrative or technical responsibility related to quality factors in raw or finished products, processing procedures, sanitation, or product storage conditions. Examples include work as a quality control technician, food technologist, or production unit supervisor. Sorting or packing work may be qualifying, provided it required technical knowledge of product types and quality factors and was not limited to manual skill.
• Inspector of grain/grain products processing plants involving enforcement of Federal, State, or local laws and regulations pertaining to raw or finished products, plant sanitation, or packaging and labeling.

Specialized Experience: Experience that demonstrated all of the following:

• Knowledge of the official U.S. grade standards for grain and/or grain products.
• Knowledge of the specific elements of product processing, transportation, storage, or conditions that affect the grain and/or grain products' grade, acceptability, and quality.
• Skill in applying the procedures, techniques, and methods required to determine the grain/grain products' acceptability or grade, and skill in performing various types of inspections.
• Skill in establishing, maintaining, and developing effective interpersonal relationships with employees, operating supervisors, and managers of the grain/grain products processing firms and facilities.

Positions at GS-9 and above require "hands on" grading and/or inspection experience of grain and/or grain products.

Testing Provisions

For positions at GS-9, competency examinations in grading and weighing grains/grain products and work-related within-house tests may be required as directed by the Administrator of the Federal Grain Inspection Service, under statutory authority of the U.S. Grain Standards Act of 1976 and as amended.