MANHATTAN, KANSAS, U.S. — The IGP Institute recently expanded its program offerings to international, on-location courses to better accommodate participants.

In November, the IGP Institute conducted two of these on-location activities.

The first remotely conducted training, the Bulgarian Grain Markets and Risk Management course, was sponsored by the USDA-ABF grant. The three-day course covered topics ranging from futures markets to basis trading and hedging.

Jay O’Neil, senior agricultural economist and course instructor, enjoyed the on-location courses because it allowed the course managers to better interact with customers and learn more about their local issues.

“On-location courses allow for an expanded number of participants to take part,” O’Neil said. “Aside from the pure economic advantages of conducting remote courses, these courses are an overall win-win for everyone.”

The second on-location course for November was located in the Philippines and was funded by the Philippines flour industry through individual participant registration. The IGP-KSU Principles of Milling course focused on the fundamentals of flour milling, including balancing, evaluating and
maximizing process efficiencies.

Mark Fowler, IGP Institute associate director and course instructor, said the on-location courses are an opportunity to extend the IGP Institute’s overall reach.

“By conducting on-location courses, we are able to reach a broader audience due to cost reduction for participants,” Fowler said. “They don’t have to worry about obtaining visas, travel expenses or being away from their families for an extended period of time.”