MOUNT VERNON, ILLINOIS, US — Siemer Milling Co., Teutopolis, Illinois, US, on Feb. 5 announced a $1 million gift to fund the Siemer Milling Company Professorship and the Illinois Wheat Initiative within the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The donation was announced during the 2024 Double Crop Farmers’ Forum in Mount Vernon, Ill., event sponsored by the Illinois Wheat Association and the Illinois Soybean Association and dedicated to helping growers learn best field practices, particularly regarding double cropping.

The Siemer Milling Company Professorship will be held by a wheat breeder in the Department of Crop Sciences. The donation will fund a salary stipend and will support the advancement of research priorities. Jessica E. Rutkoski, who employs principles and techniques of quantitative genetics and statistics for applied plant breeding, has been named the inaugural professor to hold the Siemer Milling Company Professorship title.

“Following three record-breaking years for Illinois wheat yields, this investment is critical to maintaining the industry’s momentum,” said Germán Bollero, College of ACES Dean. “This generous commitment will fuel our efforts to cultivate top-performing wheat varieties, optimize management practices, and unite academia, agriculturalists, and industry to safeguard access to a staple ingredient: wheat flour.”

Rutkoski’s research has focused on ways to make winter wheat production more profitable and sustainable. College of ACES credits her with reinvigorating the wheat breeding program over the past five years by implementing new techniques that prioritize grower profitability “using a ‘net merit’ selection index that weights individual traits according to their economic values.” 

Before joining the University of Illinois in 2019, Rutkoski spent seven years at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, most recently as an assistant professor. Earlier she spent two years as an adjunct associate scientist at CIMMYT in Texcoco, Mexico. She holds a bachelor of science degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a PhD from Cornell.

“Jessica understands the economics of wheat — her ability to combine economics and breeding has blown us away,” said Richard C. Siemer, president of Siemer Milling. “She’s capable of both virtual and traditional breeding and doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty. She is very astute and has been so impressive in her five years at Illinois. We wanted to encourage and promote her work. Jessica is making the industry better.”

The Illinois Wheat Initiative will bring together faculty to collaborate on research related to cultivating wheat in Illinois. College of ACES said it is hoped the grant will inspire other stakeholders, including growers, millers and food companies, to invest in the Illinois Wheat Initiative.

Ultimately, the initiative’s objective is the development and release of “superior soft red winter wheat varieties and information to growers.”

“As part of this initiative, we will employ novel breeding methods and tools to accelerate genetic improvement and ensure that growers can fully exploit the potential yield and quality of the wheat varieties that we are developing through innovative agronomic practice,” Rutkoski said.

The initiative will seek to expand the current breeding program to create varieties with higher economic value while offering growers an opportunity to maximize yields, while also “enhancing the role of wheat in regional cropping systems.”

The University of Illinois gift by Siemer Milling follows a $1 million gift in 2019 to the University of Kentucky Grain and Forage Center of Excellence. Siemer Milling operates flour mills in Illinois and Kentucky, as well as Indiana.