PEORIA, Ill. — The North American Millers’ Association’s (NAMA) Corn Dry Milling Conference (CDMC), held June 21-22 in Peoria, offered highly technical research presentations from USDA scientists and academia, new technologies and equipment offered by NAMA associate member companies and service providers, and real-world implementation of farm practices direct from suppliers. First held in 1959, the CDMC provides a forum for the entire value chain to share research and observations.

The 2023 CDMC was held at the USDA Peoria “Ag Lab,” more accurately known as the National Center for Agricultural Utilization and Research (NCAUR). Scientists working at the Peoria facility are currently developing technologies to mitigate billion-dollar annual losses from reduced yields and mycotoxin contamination of grain caused by Fusarium head blight (FHB), a fungal disease of small grain cereals affecting wheat, barley, oats, rye and corn. 

This and other work being done at NCAUR is “critically important” to the dry milling industry, according to Hayes Charles, corn plant manager with Iowa Corn Processors and chair of the NAMA CDMC planning committee. 

“The testing technology that the food industry currently uses to measure mycotoxins and ensure food safety is enabled by research like this from the past – both at NCAUR and other USDA research centers. As the world’s climate changes, we can see the geographical distribution of mycotoxins changing, as well as some of the underlying mitigating factors that contribute to mycotoxins, such as increased CO2 in the atmosphere,” said Charles. 

“The research being done right now at NCAUR and other USDA research centers will be the foundation for our testing and mitigation strategies in the future. Investing in this type of research is imperative for agriculture and our ability to continue to feed the world with products that are safe from hazards such as those posed by mycotoxins.”

The latest trends, challenges and concerns of the dry milling industry were on the table at the CDMC. Many were addressed by Kevin Kelly, current chair of NAMA’s Corn Division and President and CEO of LifeLine Foods, during one of five conference sessions. 

“The answer to this question is, of course, different for NAMA’s individual member companies, however there are obviously common issues with which we are all faced. Food safety is always at the top of that list, and we have touched on that a bit. The ongoing labor shortage is also a challenge for our member companies, and that spiderwebs through all parts of these businesses because the trucking carriers and railroads hauling our products are also affected by labor shortages,” Charles said in an email prior to the conference. 

“Because the member companies which make up the Corn Division all have their own priorities, one thing Mr. Kelly will touch on is how we can all work together more efficiently to identify those common, shared sources of concern – as well as opportunities – and then communicate that to our partners through NAMA,” he added. 

In addition to a full slate of presentations from USDA center scientists, the CDMC served to showcase some new instrumentation technology becoming available for quantifying mycotoxins, as well as a presentation on how to best utilize drones to inspect difficult-to-access areas of infrastructure to better protect workers. 

“The CDMC is all about getting better and learning from one another – from day-to-day operations professionals to technical and regulatory experts,” said Charles.

NAMA president Jane DeMarchi said that because of the work being done on behalf of dry millers at NCAUR, the expansive campus is the appropriate setting for the annual Corn Dry Millers Conference.  “NAMA is proud to continue our longstanding partnership with NCAUR to highlight relevant, impactful research that supports the corn sector from the farm to the mill and beyond,” said DeMarchi. 

 “The next generation of millers and food safety professionals will depend on the tools developed from research done by USDA, just like we rely today upon investments made in the past, so we must continue to advocate for increased investment in this research in order to be prepared for the myriad challenges ahead,” Charles added.

NAMA is the only national trade association that exclusively represents the interests of the North American wheat, corn, oat, and rye milling industry before Congress, federal agencies, and international regulatory bodies. Member companies operate mills in 32 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada, representing more than 90 percent of total industry production capacity, according to the organization’s website.