MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, US — The Grain Elevator and Processing Society (GEAPS) is offering a new award program for grain processing professionals to incentivize attendance at the 2025 Exchange, Feb. 22-25, in Kansas City, Missouri, US.

The Golden Ticket provides for full Exchange registration fees as well as a $500 travel stipend. Applicants must be current employees of a grain processing facility.

Nominees will be accepted through Jan. 8. Five winners will be selected and notified shortly after. Travel stipends will be handed out onsite at the Exchange.

The program is named for the International Oil Mill Superintendents Association which existed from 1905 to 2023 with a mission to promote the education, happiness and general well-being of its members, and thereby to further the efficiency and prosperity of the oil mill industry.

The IOMSA Golden Ticket complements a new GEAPS Exchange educational track on grain processing that will provide insights into extraction methods, safety regulations and grain quality. The track will also explore soybean processing techniques and how oils play a role in plastics, biodiesel and renewable diesel.

Other topics covered in this track are oilseed processing fundamentals, extraction methods in North America, soybean and canola statistics, safety regulations, grain quality, product applications, future demand, newly commissioned plants, and the role of vegetable oils in sustainability and renewable fuels.

John Caupert, GEAPS executive director, is excited about how GEAPS is working to bring more ag sectors together at Exchange.

“If you work in the grain processing industry, from ethanol production to soy crushing; from wet milling to wheat milling or any industry in between, the Golden Ticket is your ticket to the largest single site grain and grain processing conference in the world,” said Caupert.

To further help attendees to make connections with others working in grain processing, GEAPS will offer a grain processor meet-up on Feb. 23 during the Welcome Reception in the Expo Hall.