Millers meet at Isle of Palms, SC for updates, educational sessions, and networking.
More than 170 milling industry professionals and guests attended the North American Millers’ Association’s (NAMA) annual Spring Conference, April 9-12, at the Wild Dunes Resort in Isle of Palms, SC.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was NAMA’s first in-person Spring Conference since 2019. Attendance was only slightly lower than pre-pandemic levels.
According to NAMA President Jane DeMarchi, “This year’s educational sessions were focused specifically on the issues that are impacting millers the most, from sustainability to transportation.
“From the expert speakers to the dialogue during our committee meetings,” says DeMarchi, “our goal
is that NAMA’s Spring Conference provides insights that you can’t find anywhere else.”
Educational Program
The three-day program included education sessions addressing a variety of topics of interest to wheat, corn, and oat millers, including the annual Soft Wheat Forecast (see p. XX) and Canadian Crop Outlook (see p. XX). Other presentations included:
• Oat Outlook – Randy Strychar, Oatinformation.
•Prairie Oat Growers Association Update – Shawna Mathieson, Prairie Oat Growers Association.
• Expansion of Canola/Soy Crush Capacity – Bill Lapp, Advanced Economic Solutions.
• Climate-Smart Agriculture and Small Grains – Sarah Carlson, Practical Farmers of Iowa, and Jared Knock, Millborn Seeds.
• FDA Food Safety Priorities – Mark Moorman, U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
• Retail Trends – Nicholas Fereday, Rabobank.
• In Conversation: Trucking Innovation – John Dillman, Foodliner.
• Global Grain Markets – Joe Lardy, CHS.
• Maximizing Crop Potential Through Farmer Education – Dennis Pennington, Michigan State University and the Great Lakes Yield Enhancement Network, and Justin Gilpin, CEO, Wheat Rx.
Several NAMA committees and the Soft Wheat, Corn, and Oat Divisions also met.
A golf tournament was held Mon., April 11 at the Harbor Course.
Upcoming NAMA Meetings
• NAMA’s 2022 Annual Meeting will be held Sept. 29-Oct. 2 at the Royal Palms Hotel in Phoenix, AZ.
• The 2023 Spring Conference will be held April 22-25 at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek in Orlando, FL.
For more information on upcoming NAMA meetings and events, go to namamillers.org/our-events
Tucker Scharfenberg, managing editor
