Peanut Grading 101
Peanut Grading
Peanut grading is the critical step that determines how your crop is valued under the federal loan program. Every load of peanuts delivered to a buying point is officially graded by the USDA Federal-State Inspection Service. The results of that grade directly impact your loan value, marketability, and ultimately, your bottom line.
NCPGA Grading School
Each summer, the North Carolina Peanut Growers Association hosts Grading Schools to help growers better understand how their crop is valued.
At these hands-on events, growers learn:
How USDA inspectors grade peanuts using the One Doc System.
How loan rates, premiums, and deductions are calculated.
What inspectors look for in categories like SMK, splits, damage, and foreign material.
Practical steps growers can take during harvest and handling to protect grade value.
These schools are designed to make grading transparent and approachable so growers can feel confident in how their peanuts are evaluated.
Peanut Grading 101 Video
Start here! This step-by-step video walks through the peanut grading process and explains how to read a grading sheet, understand the different grade factors, and work through the calculations used to determine peanut value.
Online Peanut Grading Calculator
Want to skip the hand calculations? Use this Online Peanut Grading Calculator to work through an example grade.
Simply enter the information from your grading sheet into the appropriate fields, and the calculator will complete the calculations for you. This is a helpful tool for learning how the different components of a peanut grade come together and affect the final value.
Tip: We recommend watching the Peanut Grading 101 video first, so you understand what each value represents and where to find it on your grading sheet.
Warehouse Worksheet
Prefer to work through the calculations by hand? Download the Warehouse Worksheet used to calculate peanut grade and value step by step.
Working through the worksheet manually is a great way to better understand how each grade factor contributes to the final calculation.
Example One Doc
Follow along with a completed example using our Sample OneDoc.
This example can be used alongside the video, Warehouse Worksheet, or Online Grading Calculator to practice working through the grading process from start to finish.