Processing Track Returns: Explore the Latest Trends at GEAPS Exchange

Join for critical insights on technologies, trends, and innovations shaping the future of grain and oilseed processing. 

From biofuel demand, ethanol’s evolving role, and hands-on demonstrations of grain flow modeling, this track blends big-picture insights with practical takeaways. Also in the lineup are soybean processing and extraction technologies with an emphasis on efficiency, safety, and sustainability in modern processing operations.   

Check out the full lineup of processing sessions below!

IOMSA Golden Ticket

The IOMSA Golden Ticket supports industry professionals who are looking to improve their workplace skills and knowledge through attendance at GEAPS Exchange. Applicants must be current employees of a grain processing facility.

The Golden Ticket provides for full Exchange registration fees as well as a $500 travel stipend.

This program is named for the International Oil Mill Superintendents Association which existed from 1905 to 2023 with a mission to promote the education, happiness and general well-being of its members, and thereby to further the efficiency and prosperity of the oil mill industry.

Winners will be selected and notified in January and travel stipends handed out onsite at Exchange.

Apply Today!

Processing Track Schedule

Sunday, February 22

3:45 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.Innovation Station #1: Grain Processing: Leadership Perspectives on What’s Next – A Panel DiscussionOpen

Kick off the Processing Track with an engaging conversation featuring industry leaders from across the grain processing spectrum, including soy crush, corn ethanol, and grain co-products. This panel brings together experts who are shaping the future of processing to discuss emerging trends, market opportunities, and the innovations driving efficiency and sustainability across the value chain. Attendees will gain insight into how evolving demand, policy, and technology are transforming operations and creating new possibilities for growth. The session will also celebrate excellence in the industry with the presentation of the IOMSA Golden Ticket Awards.

IOMSA Golden Ticket Award Winners will be awarded at this time.

Speakers
John CaupertGEAPSExecutive Director
Kurt RosentraterIowa State UniversityProfessor

Monday, February 23

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.Education Session: The Next Wave of Biofuels Demand – How Growth Will Change US Ag Open

This session explores how the next wave of biofuel demand growth will reshape U.S. agriculture in ways fundamentally different from the last boom. Attendees will learn why feed coproduct supplies—especially protein meals—are poised to outpace domestic demand, creating logistical and pricing challenges. We’ll examine how elevated vegetable oil prices and sustainability incentives could trigger shifts in crop rotations toward higher oil-yielding crops and cover crops. With policy and consumer-driven demand now emerging from federal, state, provincial, and international levels, biofuel growth is more resilient—but also more complex. Finally, we’ll discuss how differing sustainability requirements across markets are creating new opportunities for differentiation, specialization, and margin capture within the grain and feed value chain.

Speakers
Duane Dunlap DNS CommoditiesPresident
9:15 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.Education Session: The Future of Ethanol Open

This session will provide attendees with an overview of the current state of the ethanol industry and its outlook for the future. Discussion will include trends in grain production and storage, sustainability efforts, and areas for growth. Presenter will also explore market opportunities, policy factors, and emerging uses for ethanol beyond traditional fuel applications. Attendees will gain a broader understanding of the challenges and innovations shaping the industry today and in the years ahead.

3:45 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.Innovation Station #1: Advantages of DEM (Discrete Element Method) Modeling in Grain Handling ApplicationsOpen

This session will showcase how the use of DEM modeling can accurately simulate product flow through transfer points. Attendees will be guided through specific ‘before-and-after’ examples where designs using DEM simulations have fixed flow and reliability issues through transfer points. Advantages to using DEM will be discussed including improved loading of belt conveyors and bucket elevators, eliminating costly ‘trial-and-error’ field fixes, potential to reduce overall heights on new installations, optimizing spouting sizes, and more…

Speakers
Eric Peterson VAAPrincipal / Senior Project Manager

Tuesday, February 24

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.Education Session: Soybean Processing – Soybean Dehulling Process Open

details coming soon!

Speakers
Bruce Mackinnon
9:15 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.Education Session: Soybean Processing – Getting to know Extraction technologies Open

This presentation will take the audience on a journey through the different extraction technologies used in Soybean processing. Topics covered will include the solvent extraction process including distillation and solvent recovery, explaining how each step affects the end quality and yields of the products. We will also cover the unique safety and environmental challenges of a soybean solvent extraction plant. Then we will dive into mechanical methods and technologies as alternatives, discussing when these might make more sense than traditional methods. Finally, we will talk a little about a secondary solvent extraction process that creates food instead of feed.

Speakers
Scott KorteN.Hunt Moore and Associates, IncDirector of Engineering