In an effort to expand the knowledge of professionals in the flour milling industry, the International Association of Operative Millers (IAOM) and the IGP Institute partnered in hosting the Introduction to Flour Milling course. This five-day course trained seven professionals from across the U.S. and surrounding countries. Participants engaged in all aspects of flour mill processes including wheat selection, milling, blending and baking functionality.
“The class spent the week learning about everything that goes into the operations of a flour mill,” said Shawn Thiele, grain processing curriculum manager and IGP Institute associate director of the IGP Institute. “They started off learning about the six wheat classes and worked through cleaning, conditioning, the milling system, blending, and baking the finished product.”
Thiele adds that most of the participants had many years working in the industry, but were new to the flour milling process. In particular, Kim Cooper, manager of government affairs for North American Millers Association (NAMA), had never witnessed the actual process of milling.
“The process is much more detailed than I ever imagined,” Cooper said. “It was very interesting to see the details of how the flour was made all the way to the finished product.”
In addition to flour milling and grain processing, the IGP Institute also offers courses in the areas of feed manufacturing and quality management, and grain marketing and risk management. To learn more about these other training opportunities, visit the IGP Institute website at www.ksu.edu/igp.
