MANHATTAN, Kan. — Milling in today’s grain industry is frequently updating technologies and developing new methods to create the best products efficiently. The grain science department at Kansas State University has an important role in the education and training of industry milling experts. Helping to educate professionals, the IGP Institute held the IGP–KSU Basic Milling Principles course June 5–9, 2017 for participants in the milling industry to grasp a basic understanding of milling concepts and acquire a hands-on training experience.
The course covered topics including wheat cleaning equipment and optimization; basic flowsheets; wheat conditioning equipment and techniques; the milling process and equipment used; advantages of wheat and flour blending and functionality; understanding wheat and flour quality testing; milling math; and milling different classes of wheat.
These topics provided a comprehensive understanding of the milling process and how employees impact the process.
“The diverse milling knowledge that is also brought in from the participants promotes excellent class discussion and provides different views of milling,” says Shawn Thiele, IGP Institute flour milling specialist.
Along with classroom lectures from university faculty and staff, participants also gained handson training experience during labs in both the Hal Ross Flour Mill and the Shellenberger Mill on the KSU campus.
The course was held primarily for individuals employed in milling engineering, operation management, production management, head milling and shift management.
“It’s really hard to pinpoint just one thing about this course,” says Lloyd B. Anderson, Jr., miller at General Mills in Kansas City, Missouri. “I definitely enjoyed the hands-on experience, and I actually learned a lot about milling and it helped me understand the flows of the mill better. Basically, you learn from other millers and hear their stories and with this I can go back and make improvements.”
The IGP Institute offers several other training courses in addition to flour milling and grain processing. The institute holds trainings in 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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