April 05, 2018

05/04/2018: USDA Cochran Fellowship provides Serbian Professionals with pet food experience

With the continual growth of the pet food industry, professionals strive to improve their knowledge of pet food production through various training experiences.

This training was put into action for eight Serbian professionals during the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)–Cochran Fellowship Program: Introduction to US Pet Food course. This was held March 12–23, 2018 at the IGP Institute Conference Centre.
 

Participants in the USDA Cochran Fellowship Program: Introduction to US Pet Food – Serbia course attend the 2018 Global Pet Expo in Orlando, Florida. 
Image credit: IGP KSU

“The Serbian Cochran team was a fantastic, highly skilled group of individuals,” says Brandi Miller, associate director and online education and professional development coordinator at the IGP Institute. “It truly embodied what the Cochran Fellowship Program is all about, bringing the right mix of individuals to learn and engage in agricultural practices in the US, so they can return to their home countries and put the skills to work.”

The training covered topics including an overview and introduction of US pet food ingredients, extrusion and processing introduction, food safety in pet food, quality control in pet food production, and innovations in nutrition of aging.

“The course combined both practical and theoretical topics,” says Dorde German, Komponenta in Serbia. “It gave me an opportunity to see what I really wanted to see. There’s new things that I want to implement in my own production as I saw yesterday in the plant, how to change some things for my own production line.”

In addition to the classroom lectures and discussions led by KSU faculty and staff, the participants also gained hands-on experience in BIVAP (Bioprocessing and Industrial Value-Added Program) and Shellenberger Hall on the KSU campus.

“I’ve honestly never been introduced to American products as they are not present in Serbia because of the different regulations,” says Sonja Isailovska at Sl Poljovet in Serbia. “I really wanted to learn more about the ways of US production and everything about it in how it’s connected, which is all very interesting to me.”

This course was held at the IGP Institute for one week as part of the two-week program through the USDA. The participants also travelled to Orlando, Florida to attend the Global Pet Food Expo. Miller says, “They were truly engaged and appreciated the exposure they received to the US pet food market.”

This is just one example of the specialised trainings offered by the IGP Institute. In addition to these trainings, IGP also offers courses in the areas of grain marketing and risk management, grain processing and flour milling, and feed manufacturing and grain quality management.

To learn more about these other courses, visit the IGP website, HERE.

The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine Milling and Grain
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.


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