Manhattan, KS - With the hopes of keeping up the demand for U.S. grains and oilseeds, IGP Institute continues to foster educational opportunities for international customers.
Helping industry professionals learn about the procurement of soybeans and their co-products, the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) sponsored the Oilseed and Grain Purchasing Tools and Resources training April 30–May 2, 2019 at the Kansas State University IGP Institute.
The offering was held for 26 participants from 9 countries including the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Chile, Colombia, Panama, Peru, Venezuela, and Mexico.
“There was a lot of interest in the last presentation on purchasing strategy and implementation since it integrated all the different course topics,” says Carlos Campabadal IGP Institute feed manufacturing and grain quality management outreach specialist.
Campabadal shares that many of the top feed producers in their respective countries participated in the training.
The training covered topics including U.S. soy in global markets; storage and maintenance tools for U.S. soy and grain; concepts for cash and hedging policies; an inside view of the Grain Transportation Report and other USDA reports; soy from origination to export markets; maritime freights theory; impact of soybean meal based on origin; commodity and ingredient hedging; oilseeds and grain cash market supply alternatives; introduction to technical analysis; U.S. soy sustainability; and commodity and ingredient hedging.
In addition to listening to lectures presented by Kansas State University faculty and staff, course participants also visited the Kansas Soybean Commission and spent time on Bob Hazelwood’s farm near Berryton, Kansas.
Enjoying the hands-on aspects of the course, participant Arturo Caldera, commodities buyer for Granjas Carroll, shared that the course was beneficial to his learning.
“Since I’m a rookie and just starting out, I had some challenges,” says Caldera.
“However, I found the risk management exercise to be most beneficial for me. The instructors helped give me us a better idea on what we should do in certain situations at our own operations.”
Caldera adds that he also enjoyed the vessel booking, training and contracts portion of the course.
This is just one example of the specialized trainings offered by the IGP Institute.
In addition to grain marketing and risk management, the IGP Institute offers courses in the areas of flour milling and grain processing, and feed manufacturing and grain quality management.
For more information, please contact Lisa Moser at 785-477-4837 or lmoser@ksu.edu