Your rights at the grain elevator: a card for the truck
What you're entitled to when you deliver: watching the weighing and the dockage test, no shrink, your crop's moisture ranges, 7 days to ask the Canadian Grain Commission about the grade, the scale's inspection and payment protection. Pick your buyer and crop, then print it or keep it on your phone.
By Ruslan Glick, Winnipeg · Updated 9 October 2026
From the Canadian Grain Commission's list of licensed companies. Your answer isn't stored.
Where does the grain go?
At a licensed primary elevator · Canola
Your rights when you deliver
Watch the weighing
You, or whoever hauls your grain, have the right to verify the weight while the load is being weighed.
You have the right to be there when the operator takes the sample. A portion of at least 1 kg from each load is kept for 7 days after the receipt is issued.
Straight (dry) up to 10.0%, tough 10.1 to 12.5%, damp over 12.5%. These are the Canadian Grain Commission's ranges, so a ticket that calls the load tough or damp can be checked against them.
"The maximum shrinkage allowance that may be made on the delivery of grain to any licensed elevator is zero." Drying, if you ask for it, is a separate service the company charges for under the charges it files with the Commission.
Disagree with the grade or dockage? You have 7 days
Within 7 calendar days of delivery, tell the operator you want the sample sent to the Canadian Grain Commission for a Final Quality Determination. It can cover the grade or any single factor, such as moisture, protein or dockage. The fee is invoiced to the elevator. The Commission sends the result to you both, and you can appeal within 15 days of the date on the certificate.
Scales in a grain elevator licensed by the Commission must be examined every year by Measurement Canada or a provider it authorizes. Moisture meters and grain analyzers aren't on that schedule, so a moisture disagreement goes to the Commission through the Final Quality Determination above. Think a weight was wrong? You can complain to Measurement Canada, online or by phone.
Each crop year, at or before your first delivery, sign a Declaration of Eligibility for each licensed company you deliver to. A variety that isn't registered can only get the lowest grade for that kind of grain, and a false statement is an offence under the Canada Grain Act.
Deliveries of regulated grains are covered by the Commission's payment protection for up to 90 days from delivery. Once you're given a cash purchase ticket or cheque, cover runs 30 days from the day it was issued, or to the 90 days, whichever ends first. Keep the receipt, ticket or cheque: a scale ticket alone isn't accepted for a claim.
From the Canadian Grain Commission, the Canada Grain Regulations and Measurement Canada. Checked 9 October 2026. Not legal advice. grainposition.com/grain-delivery-rights
Asking isn't accusing. These rules exist so that both sides can check. Most loads are weighed and graded fairly; the card is there for the one that isn't clear, so you know what you can ask for and by when.
Questions
Can the elevator take shrink off my grain?
Section 30 of the Canada Grain Regulations says: "The maximum shrinkage allowance that may be made on the delivery of grain to any licensed elevator is zero." Drying, if you ask for it, is a separate service the company charges for under the charges it files with the Canadian Grain Commission. The shrink calculator works out how much water drying takes off.
Can I watch my grain being weighed and graded?
At a licensed primary elevator, yes: you or whoever hauls your grain can verify the weight while the load is weighed, be there when the sample is taken, and have the dockage test done in front of you if you ask. Dockage is worked out on each load to the nearest 0.1% (what dockage costs).
What if I disagree with the grade or dockage?
At a licensed primary elevator, tell the operator within 7 calendar days of delivery that you want the sample sent to the Canadian Grain Commission for a Final Quality Determination. It can cover the grade or a single factor such as moisture, protein or dockage. The fee is invoiced to the elevator, and you can appeal the result within 15 days of the date on the certificate. It isn't available at process elevators or grain dealers.
Who checks the elevator's scale?
Scales in a grain elevator licensed by the Commission must be examined every year by Measurement Canada or a provider it authorizes, and every 2 years at other grain businesses such as feed mills and seed plants. Moisture meters and grain analyzers aren't on that schedule. If you think a weight was wrong, you can complain to Measurement Canada online or by phone.
What if the buyer doesn't pay?
Deliveries of regulated grains to a licensed primary elevator, process elevator or grain dealer are covered by the Commission's payment protection for a limited time. The payment protection checker works out the dates for your delivery.
Every ticket and settlement, checked against the rules
GrainPosition reads your contracts, scale tickets and settlements from photos, keeps the dates, and checks each settlement line by line: grade, weight, dockage and deductions, with the 7-day window counted for you. Free during early access.
Checked 9 October 2026. The rules are for deliveries in Canada. This is not legal advice; the Commission decides every case.
Were you paid right on your last grain settlement?
Send me a photo of the settlement, and the contract if you have it. Within a day I’ll email you back what each line is, what’s worth asking the buyer about, and any grade or payment deadline that’s still open. Free, no account.
Ruslan Glick, Winnipeg. Not a farmer, so I check against your contract and the Canadian Grain Commission’s rules, not opinions. Top Crop Manager wrote about GrainPosition.
