MANHATTAN, KANSAS, U.S. — Plans are underway at Kansas State University’s (KSU) International Grains Program (IGP) to host the annual Introduction to Flour Milling short course, Jan. 23-27, 2012.

The course is co-sponsored by the International Association of Operative Millers (IAOM) and will be held at the IGP conference center and Hal Ross Mill on the KSU campus.

“The objective of this course is to help participants gain a general understanding of the principles of the milling process,” said Mark Fowler, course coordinator and IGP associate director. “We explain the relationship between wheat quality and its effect on the milling process.”

In addition, Fowler said, participants will leave the course with an understanding of the wheat varieties and what it can best produce. Finally, they will learn the role each department plays in the success of the milling industry.

“This is a basic course which requires no previous milling experience,” Fowler said.

Those who may be interested in attending include: new mill employees, mill HR staff and managers, grain and ingredient procurement managers, feed and flour sales representatives, production schedules, warehousing and QA personnel, research and development staff, wheat breeders, grain inspectors, food program administrators, international wheat/grain traders, etc.

“I wanted to get a general overall understanding of milling, because as someone who sells equipment it’s important to understand the industry,” said Diwakar Mokadam, who at the time of the interview was the general manager of Imas North America, Hamburg, New York, U.S.

This type of knowledge is passed on from trainer to participant. Along with Fowler, adjunct instructor Dan Wells will be assisting in the course.

“Dan brings a tremendous about of industry experience to the course from his years at ADM and we are fortunate to have his expertise in our classroom,” Fowler said.

For more information or to register for this course, go to the IGP website at www.ksu.edu/igp.