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Tag: Kansas Wheat Commission

Kansas Wheat and K-State Grain Science flour distribution

Posted on by Jason Hackett

By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.

Flour power! No, I’m not having a flashback to the 1960s. I’m referring to the kind of flour that comes from wheat and is used for baking bread.

When the pandemic hit in Spring 2020, and people were stuck at home, such flour was less available in stores. Then Kansas Wheat and the K-State Department of Grain Science and Industry mobilized to provide a free flour distribution to Kansas families. Such generosity led to these entities being recognized as Ag Heroes by the Kansas Department of Agriculture during the 2020 Ag Growth Summit.

Wheat flour distribution at K-State
Wheat flour distribution at K-State

Justin Gilpin is the chief executive officer of Kansas Wheat. Gordon Smith is head of K-State’s Grain Science and Industry Department. That department includes several facilities, including the Hal Ross Flour Mill. These entities came together to provide this flour distribution in June 2020.

Kansas Wheat is the product of a cooperative agreement between two organizations:  The Kansas Wheat Commission and the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers. Continue reading “Kansas Wheat and K-State Grain Science flour distribution” →

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: National Festival of Breads

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

What better place is there than the Wheat State to host the National Festival of Breads?  Thanks to some visionary wheat farmers from years ago and a hard-working crew of volunteers and staff, a national festival which celebrates bread-baking is being held in Kansas.

June 17 is the 2017 final event for the National Festival of Breads, this year in Manhattan, Kansas.

Cindy Falk and Julene DeRouchey are co-directors of the National Festival of Breads.  Cindy is nutrition educator at the Kansas Wheat Commission and Julene is her assistant. Coincidentally, they are both Pottawatomie County farm girls who grew up presenting cooking demonstrations in 4-H. Julene grew up on a farm near Wamego and Cindy grew up on a farm south of Onaga, a rural community of 702 people. Now, that’s rural.

“The credit for the beginning of this should go to the Kansas Wheathearts, which was the women’s auxiliary of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers,” Cindy Falk said. In 1990, these women wanted to have a baking contest to promote wheat, the source of bread flour. Cindy, then a part-time staff person for the Kansas Wheat Commission, attended the initial planning meeting. The first year’s baking contest went so well that it became an ongoing event under the auspices of what is now Kansas Wheat. Cindy has been involved ever since.

Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: National Festival of Breads” →