Cole Russell Post # 3

We learned about product inspection. As stated in my previous post, RMG will start by locating the barges of cargo being sold & track these barges until they make it down river to load onto the vessel.  Once barges are loaded with cargo by the supplier and ready to make the trek downriver, they are consolidated into larger tows and pushed downriver for export (see above picture of tow boat pushing several barges. Before the barges load to the vessel, RMG will send their guys out on the river onto the barge where they will inspect the cargo & look for damage / heat / odor, etc. They will also collect several samples of the cargo to bring back to the laboratory to analyze. Typically they will analyze the cargo for moisture, fat, protein, fiber, mycotoxins, GMO, chemical residues (pesticides & herbicides) or whatever else the customer may require. However the sampling process is very important.  You cannot go out to the barge and just take a sample at the surface as this will not tell you the condition of the cargo at the bottom of the barge. In order to get a representative sample, you must retrieve cargo from different areas of the barge. You can do this by using a 10 to 12 ft flow through probe. This way you are able to retrieve cargo deep into the barge. The guys will also bring a temperature probe which allows them to see the temperature of the cargo throughout the barge.  The RMG team inspects several barges per day. I was able to help inspect & sample a barge, see pictures above.