MANHATTAN, Kan. — The mission of the Kansas State University IGP Institute is to educate foreign and domestic groups, and create a preference for U.S. grains. As part of the mission at the IGP Institute, partnered with the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) to educate prospective buyers at the U.S. Agribusiness Partnership Program in Soy Purchasing course held June 5–9, 2017 at the IGP Institute Conference Center.
The course was taught by KSU and USSEC faculty and staff and covered topics including the U.S. grain production and marketing system; USDA grain standards and how they are implemented; insights into soybean and grain production practices; dynamics of international grain trading-contracting practices; U.S. export grain inspection system; fundamentals of futures trading and hedging; and several grain marketing topics.
The course not only featured classroom presentations and discussions, but also included lab activities in the KSU Bioprocessing and Industrial Value Added Program and tours of the O.H. Kruse Feed Technology Innovation Center in Manhattan, Kansas; Bunge in Emporia, Kansas; Wenger Manufacturing in Sabetha, Kansas; and Lance Rezac’s soybean farm near Onaga, Kansas.
“IGP is a very interesting institute and part of the university where I can learn new things,” says Kusuma Dewi Tjahyono, vice president of overseas procurement at Japfa Comfeed in Jakarta, Indonesia. “I am very interested in all of the topics in this course. Aside from learning in the class, I was able to go out to the field tour and see for myself how they operate and what the farm was doing with the machinery. I can also understand how to manage the crop later on regarding minimizing the loss from disease or insects.”
Along with the customized trainings, the IGP Institute offers courses in the areas of flour milling and grain processing, feed manufacturing and grain 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.
— Samantha Albers, communications intern, KSU-IGP Institute
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