Mission:
The mission of the Engineering Research Unit is to conduct research on current problems associated with post-harvest grain conditioning, handling, storage and quality assessments that affect the safety of our food and feed chain. Laboratory, pilot and full scale grain equipment and storage facilities are used to develop new technologies for facility management, maintenance of grain quality, objective assessment of grain quality and reducing grain losses in market channels. The research addresses problems in grain storage, grain flow, grain dust control, wheat hardness testing, wheat milling, dough mixing and digital image analysis for grain inspection. The in-house research is supplemented with contract research. The objective of the research is to develop new and improved technologies for farm to market assessment and maintenance of grain quality.