April 9, 2003

NCI's Pasta Course Is Vital To U.S. Durum Industry

Fargo, ND, USA -- Pasta and noodle makers are at the Northern Crops Institute (NCI) learning how to make better products. The "Pasta and Noodles: Raw Materials and Processing" short course runs from April 9-11. Representing both major U.S. pasta companies including General Mills, Kraft, Golden Grain, and Quaker Foods, and small family-owned companies, the participants will be trained on the quality and business aspects of pasta processing.

"Pasta processors continue to send employees to NCI because of the value our courses provide in their education," said Brian Sorenson, NCI's technical director. "It's very important to educate processors on how to produce the highest quality product. U.S. pasta consumption is key to the sale of U.S. durum," he concluded.

North Dakota is the origin of nearly three fourths of the nation's high quality 100 million bushel annual durum crop. "This course and the industry it represents take on particular significance for North Dakota and its economy, since North Dakota is such a major player in the U.S. durum industry," said Neal Fisher, administrator of the North Dakota Wheat Commission. "Approximately 60 percent of the annual U.S. durum crop is used domestically and roughly 40 million bushels are sold to processors in as many as 30 countries each year," Fisher concluded.

Northern Crops Institute has seen a continued interest in this course from the pasta industry. "We offered our first pasta processing course in 1984. Since then, the pasta industry has seen a major consolidation," according to Dr. Pat Berglund, NCI's Director. "Instead of the 250 or more companies that we had in the U.S. in the 1920's, we probably have five major players in the country today including Dakota Growers Pasta," Berglund concluded.