E. E. Cummings Crop Testing Laboratory

The E. E. Cummings Crop Testing Laboratory opened in 2011 as the NWCS Quality Testing Laboratory, thanks to funding from the Castanea Foundation and the support of generous private donations. We perform quality analysis on commercial cereal grains and malting barley samples from farmers and researchers.
Grain samples

Available Tests

We offer a variety of tests to help you get the answers you need. Learn more about pricing and sample submissions.

Learn more

Sample Submission Form (PDF)

Updates

Changes to Our Grain Submission Form

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We have streamlined our grain submission forms. Instead of having separate forms for malting barley and other cereal grains, we have combined the forms into one single sample submission form. We’ve also combined some of our most popular testing combinations into packages that are available at a discount. None of the pricing for individual tests has changed.

  • Malting Barley Package: Grain Moisture, Test Weight, Starch, Protein, Plumpness, Germination Energy, Germination Capacity, and Water Sensitivity ($60, or $50 for Northern Grain Growers members)
  • Baking Quality Package: Grain Moisture, Test Weight, Starch, Protein, and Falling Number ($37, or $30 for Northern Grain Growers members)
  • Seed Quality Package: Germination Energy, Germination Capacity, and Seed Purity ($25, or $20 for Northern Grain Growers members)

Grains Lab phone contact is 802-656-5392 or email uvmgrain@uvm.edu. 

Hops Testing Update

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Due to rising costs of lab supplies and decreasing volume of hops samples arriving, the E.E. Cummings Crop Testing lab will no longer be analyzing hops samples. We recommend Alliance Analytical Labs, Advanced Analytical Research, or Cornell AgriTech lab for your hops analysis needs. Please find links below for each of these locations for your convenience.