Brian Sorenson is now the executive director of the Minnesota Wheat Research and Promotion Council. Before taking on this role, he helped present at and eventually managed the Grain Procurement Management for Importers short course at the Northern Crops Institute (NCI). USW talked with him about how the combination of his direct experience with the course and his current role representing wheat growers gives him a unique perspective on the course’s value to global grain buyers and U.S. wheat farmers.

How did you help refine the course while you were involved?

I offered to provide a lecture that was new to the course to talk about what the quality factors mean, so when participants hear terms like farinograph or absorption or vitreous kernels, they know what those terms mean.

We emphasize quality, so if we’re going to talk about how important quality is, it’s important that these buyers have a good understanding of what these terms mean. At the same time, we take them on tours to country grain elevators and export terminals to see the grain being handled with care, tested by the USDA’s Federal Grain Inspection Service – all to ensure the quality that is going on that vessel or in that train. They know that what they’re buying is what they can expect when they get the wheat to their destination.

How do the field trips during the course shape these buyers’ perspectives on U.S. wheat quality and production?

Going out on the field trips and driving around the countryside, the participants get an understanding of how dedicated the producers are to producing high-quality wheat as efficiently as they can. They also see the grain handling and storage facilities, seeing that we have a high level of safety. It’s one thing to grow wheat in the field, but it’s important to these buyers to understand how much care is taken to get wheat from harvest to their final destination.

These kinds of field trips are great because you can see their eyes open and their enthusiasm. You can tell they’re really soaking it in. This year, after my presentation, we went outside to the NDSU historical wheat plot, where wheat has continually been planted since the late 1800s. It was planted late, so it was just starting to ripen. So they actually got the chance to see wheat growing and actually pulling some heads. Seeing, feeling, touching, experiencing – they really enjoyed that!

What is the most important message you relay to wheat producers about the long-term value of the course?

I tell producers that these are golden opportunities that we have to bring these grain buyers here because the impressions that they get are long-lasting. It may not result in an immediate sale, but they’re always going to look back at their time here. We made that impression. We made that connection. And we’re hoping that at some point, in the near future or down the road, it will help them make that decision to buy U.S. wheat.

Read the full story on the NCI Grain Procurement Short Course and explore other Q&As from this activity here.