NWB Hosts North American Millers’ Association in Domestic Trade Team Visit

LINCOLN, NE – The Nebraska Wheat Board (NWB) hosted a domestic trade team including representatives from the North American Millers’ Association on July 13-14. This visit provided participants with an opportunity to learn about Nebraska’s wheat industry while showcasing the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s (UNL) wheat research and innovation efforts.

The NWB invests wheat check-off dollars in domestic market development efforts such as trade team visits. These visits strengthen relationships with domestic customers and can ensure Nebraska stands out in the U.S. marketplace. Hosting teams also offer a transparent look into research concerning Nebraska wheat and leaves an impression on representatives of Nebraska’s drive towards wheat innovation and high-quality standards.   

“Welcoming the North American Miller’s Association to Nebraska was an outstanding opportunity to demonstrate why our state is a leader in both wheat production and agricultural innovation,” said Royce Shaneman, Executive Director of the NWB.

“Our guests saw firsthand how Nebraska is investing in innovation across the entire value chain, from producing high quality wheat to advancing food science, food allergy research, food processing, gut health and nutrition through the University of Nebraska.”

Schaneman emphasized the long-term value of hosting domestic trade teams.  

“Building strong relationships through visits like these strengthens confidence in Nebraska wheat and opens the door to new opportunities for our producers and our industry,” he said.

The North American Miller’s Association (NAMA) serves as a voice for the milling industry to policymakers, supply chain partners and consumers. The visiting representatives included Jane Demarchi, President of NAMA and Molly Miller, Vice President of Regulatory and Technical Affairs.

The visit began on UNL’s East Campus with a tour of the Environmental Quality and Communities Lab. The tour was led by Assistant Professor and small grains breeder Dr. Katherine Frels. During the tour, the team learned about the lab’s focus on the behavior of biologically active contaminants in agroecosystems.

After their visit to East Campus, they observed UNL’s research into food science at Innovation Campus. There, they attended meetings with faculty specializing in food science and technology research as well as food allergy research. The team was able to ask specific questions about ongoing projects in the department and have discussions about the initiatives being done by NAMA. Participants also toured the Food Innovation Center to see the diverse range of laboratories and research spaces utilized by the Food Science and Technology Department.

Also located on the Innovation Campus is the Greenhouse Innovation Center, which is a 12,800 square foot greenhouse space with state-of-the-art lighting, climate control and plant photography equipment. The team toured the facility and observed specialized wheat experimentation and data collection in action. Seeing this facility offered a transparent look into ongoing wheat research initiatives being done at UNL.

The team also had a unique opportunity to meet Andrew Benson, the Food for Health Presidential Chair and Director, to learn about his research regarding gut health. Research initiatives combining biomedical research and agriculture are rare. Seeing these efforts allowed the team to learn about wheat’s significance in these experiments and open the conversation on how this research can benefit millers in the future.

Regarding how trade team visits are positive for relationships between the industry and the research space, Benson said “Academic research and commercial industry often face different challenges due to scale, but we are increasingly finding that we share similar issues that can impede discovery, translation and commercialization.”

He continued, “Working with organizations like the North American Millers’ Association helps us identify those shared challenges and find pathways for collaboration that benefit everyone.”

He closed by stating “We welcome these opportunities to learn from and share our industry partners.”

Each of these stops are meant to provide multiple points of perspective into wheat and food science research being done in Nebraska. These experiences build connections between the North American Millers’ Association and representatives at UNL, which creates a deeper understanding of our state’s wheat industry and creates a memorable experience.

The Nebraska Wheat Board administers the wheat checkoff at 0.5% of net value of wheat marketed in Nebraska at the point of first sale. The board invests the funds into programs of international and domestic market development, policy development, research, promotion and education.