One of the areas Wheat Marketing Center is most passionate about is education. As a part of our commitment to providing educational opportunities to the current and next generations of wheat and grain professionals, we host tours and educational workshops for many kinds of groups.
Student Tours
From local school kids on a field trip to farmers working in the fields where US wheat is grown to Taiwan bakers looking to understand the farm-to-fork journey, we explain the different kinds of wheat and the importance of wheat quality. Students and tour participants get to experience demonstrations of our production of crackers, noodles and tortillas, and answer many questions about the fascinating world of wheat.
The Wheat Marketing Center has become a favorite stop for schools and student groups like Future Farmers of America (FFA) looking to understand the wheat industry, providing youth with a path to achievement in premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.
WMC staff always look forward to spending time with kids from grade schools, colleges and other student organizations as they are always prepared for the visit, engaged in the experience, and often ask tough questions about wheat, farming and the wheat market as a whole.
Grower Tours
One of our primary goals at Wheat Marketing Center’s is to serve and educate farmers of U.S. wheat about who their customers are and the qualities they look for when buying wheat. That’s why we partner with state wheat commissions to offer grower workshops – an opportunity for growers to gain knowledge and tools to increase farm profitability by understanding customer preferences and demands, and the journey their wheat takes to feed the world.
Grower Workshops typically include:
- Hands-on production and tasting of end products in Wheat Marketing Center’s labs, where noodles, tortillas, flatbreads, bagels, crackers and steamed breads are produced using a variety of wheat blends.
- Demonstrations of wheat and flour analytical equipment, including explanations of why the tests are important when analyzing raw wheat quality.
- Visits to partner facilities like the Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) for grain grading demonstrations.
- Meetings with U.S. Wheat, grain traders and others in the industry to discuss market trends, and other factors that affect the price of wheat.
- Tours of wheat export, transportation and processing facilities.
Through hands-on 2-3 day workshops, we help farmers discover the story their wheat tells after leaving the farm. Participants witness how quality characteristics translate into successful end products, empowering them to make informed growing decisions that align with market demands and maximize their financial returns.
Professional / Industry Tours
Every year during harvest season, WMC partners with US Wheat Associates to host a number of international trade teams who are interested in learning more about WMC and its integral role in maintaining and improving the quality of US wheat. During these tours, WMC’s leadership gives a brief overview of the organization and its mission, and then offers a report about the current year’s harvest and the PNW annual crop quality survey. In addition to touring WMC’s lab facilities, trade teams come to understand the current quality of the annual crop, how it will impact their end products, and to obtain data that will help them make real-time purchasing decisions based on results analysis.
Additional Educational Oppurtunities
In addition to tours of Wheat Marketing Center and our facilities, we are also happy to arrange visits to related facilities including export elevators, bakeries and grain inspection labs. If you are interested in knowing more about wheat and how Wheat Marketing Center plays a pivotal role in serving U.S. growers and the buying market, contact us at info@wmcinc.org. We would love the opportunity to help expand the knowledge and understanding of wheat and the quality of US wheat to your group!