Milling & Baking News - November 7, 2006 - 12

M I L L I N G

A N D

G R A I N

the university's leadership in milling
education and research.
"It signifies in the strongest possible
manner the commitment of this university to fulfilling the role it undertook nearly a century ago when this
department was launched," he said.
He added that the commitment
represented by the construction
of the flour mill extends beyond
the university.
"In my judgment, the dedication of
this mill and the near completion of
this complex ought to be viewed as
a parallel commitment on the part of
milling to advanced education, to the
highest levels of scientific research,
and to embracing a belief that the
future of milling, yes of grain-based
foods in its entirety, rests on what can
be learned and what can be discovered
at institutions like this one," he said.
The program was followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony, after which the
new $10 million facility opened for tours.
With flour production capacity of
400 cwts per day, appropriate to its
status as a teaching/research facility,
the 22,000-square-foot, five-story slipform concrete structure includes the
kind of modern equipment found in
most commercial mills.
"It is all full-scale equipment," said
Fred Fairchild, a professor in K.S.U.'s
Department of Grain Science and Industry who spearheaded the effort to

M A N A G E M E N T

obtain equipment donations.
The mill, which includes $2.7 million of
equipment donated
by nearly 30 milling
industry equipment
suppliers, was designed through a joint
effort of K.S.U.'s milling science faculty
and engineers from
Buhler, which will use
the facility for customer training.
In addition to donating much of the
equipment,
Buhler Speakers at the dedication ceremony included Calvin Grieder,
made a $500,000 com- chief executive officer of Buhler AG, Uzwil, Switzerland.
mitment to establish
an industrial milling
faculty chair, a position that is being clients to the mill and show them how
filled by Kendall McFall. Although their equipment works in a mill setthe curriculum for the new industrial ting, something they aren't able to do
milling program hasn't been finalized, in a commercial mill.
it will involve continuing education
The mill is named after Hal Ross,
courses that will span roughly eight to one of the project's major donors and
10 weeks.
a graduate of K.S.U.'s milling science
Traditionally, K.S.U. has offered program. Mr. Ross, who spent many
a two-week short course targeted at years in his family's flour milling busiinternational management and two ness, said he was inspired to give back
one-week courses that have been held to the university and the milling induscooperatively with the International As- try, which both have been good to him.
sociation of Operative Millers.
"Today, in this mill, we have the
One of the benefits for Buhler and very best facilities for training new
other companies is that they can bring students," Mr. Ross said. MBN

Three down, two to go
With the opening of the Hal Ross Flour Mill on Oct. 20,
Kansas State University (K.S.U.) took another major step
toward completing its Grain Science Complex, which will
have five facilities when completed.
The International Grains Program (I.G.P.) building, the
Bio-Processing and Industrial Value-Added Program (BIVAP)
building and the flour mill are already operational. A feed
mill and a large classroom/laboratory building are yet to
come, though fundraising efforts are already under way.
The idea for the complex was conceived 10 years
ago as a $45 million project, but the price tag now has
climbed to $70 million. Virgil Smail, head of K.S.U.'s Department of Grain Science and Industry, said about $4
million needs to be raised to construct the feed mill, primarily through private funding.
"The feed mill is now our priority," he said.
The final building will require about $40 million that
Mr. Smail said would be sought through federal and state
government funding.
That building will include classrooms, laboratories and
perhaps much more if a joint proposal by the Department of Grain Science and Industry, AIB International and
the U.S.D.A./A.R.S. Grain Marketing Production Center
comes to fruition. The Manhattan, Kas.-based organizations are proposing the creation of the Center of Excel-

12 / Milling & Baking News, November 7, 2006

lence for Grain Research, Industry, Analysis, Nutrition
and Security (Kansas GRAINS Center).
"Our strategy is to create a national initiative for major
new funding for grain industrial research that will include
focusing on healthy grains for food and feed, new industrial uses for materials and energy, biosecurity, preservation and marketing," Mr. Smail said.
The organizations will be asking the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corp. (K.T.E.C.) to designate the combined
resources and activity of K.S.U., AIB International and
the U.S.D.A. as "a Center of Excellence for Grain Industry Research." Mr. Smail said such a designation would
help in the effort to raise significant federal funds for the
programs.
He said the initiative could provide an additional $75
million per year in federal research support and is designed to "address crucial research and educational
needs for the U.S. grain industry to defend and ensure
the competitiveness of our industry into the future."
The proposed center would include a grant program to
other states of about $40 million per year to match commission, U.S.D.A. and other grant funds. Mr. Smail said
the federal funds would come from offsets in the farm
program, as farm supports are being cut in half in the
next five years. MBN

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Milling & Baking News - November 7, 2006

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