MANHATTAN, KANSAS, US — A two-week course hosted by the Kansas State University IGP Institute gave representatives of flour millers and wheat buyers from Vietnam an opportunity to learn about the US wheat supply chain while visiting Kansas, Oregon and Washington during the USDA Cochran Fellowship Program – US Wheat Promotion for Vietnam.
From July 30 to Aug. 12, the seven participants learned about the various classes of wheat in the United States, including an overview of the grain supply chain from farm to export, and information on how wheat characteristics affect flour quality and baking results.
The group toured the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center, a flour mill, a large grain elevator, and a wheat farm during their time in Kansas. They then traveled to Portland, Oregon, US, and met with representatives from US Wheat, the Wheat Marketing Center, Oregon Wheat and the Federal Grain Inspection Service. Field trips in the Portland area included visits to a commercial bakery, a farm during wheat harvest, and grain export facilities on the Columbia River in the state of Washington.