Amarillo: Faces, Places & Open Spaces

Amarillo, Amarillo Grain Exchange tests it for
moisture content, protein content, and insect
infestation. Two trainloads include 100 rail
cars, or 800 truckloads consisting of about
350,000 bushels. Amarillo Grain Exchange’s
job is to insure a standard of control from start
to finish in the shipping process.
As busy as Amarillo Grain Exchange is during
grain harvest season, its principle customer
base is the cattle feeding industry.
Testing grain for the cattle industry is a yearround
business. Feedlots prefer certain grades
of grain for their feed mixes and it is up to
Amarillo Grain Exchange to determine the
grade of each grain shipment to the feed lots.
Grade determines the cost, consequently
dockage or reduction in price due to presence
of objects like seeds or chaff in the grain
sample saves feed yards thousands of dollars.
Today Don’s son Cash is the owner and
manager of Amarillo Grain Exchange. He has
worked for the company since 1982 and started
as a grain sampler technician. The company
has two locations, one in Amarillo and one in
Guymon, Oklahoma. Its designated geographical
service area is primarily the Texas and
Oklahoma Panhandles. The company employs
16 employees; 12 in Amarillo and
4 in Guymon. Inspectors spend
many hours on the road visiting
feed yards in the area collecting
samples and grading them. Sample
technicians are trained and tested in
house. Grain inspectors are trained
in house for each grain and tested
and licensed by the federal government
for each grain. Grains tested
include corn, grain sorghum,
wheat, soybeans, and oats; they are
tested for moisture content, infestation,
damaged kernels, foreign
material, and shrinkage. Through
the years technology has enabled
Amarillo Grain Exchange to test
more grain, test it faster, and test it
more accurately. The testing process
for protein content in wheat has
been improved dramatically, which
is of great benefit because protein
content in wheat is a major consideration
in wheat sales.
Cash believes Amarillo Grain Exchange was
a valuable service in the early days and remains
so today. Although today’s methods of grain
grading are more streamlined and the customer
base has changed to feedlots, his firm’s services
are still vital to the local economy. He is proud
to be an integral part of the diverse agricultural
community in the Texas Panhandle.
Cash is active in the community, has
coached Kid’s Inc., has supported the MS
Society, and is a member of the Amarillo
Chamber of Commerce, Texas Cattle Feeders,
and American Association of Grain Inspection.
Above: Amarillo Grain Exchange has been
located at 1300 South Johnson since the
late 1960s.
Below: Today’s modern methods of grain
inspection streamline the testing process.
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