Episode Transcript
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Jim Lenz, Director of Educa (00:03):
The
grain industry is evolving and
with transformation comesopportunity.
As new technologies, marketshifts and industry challenges
emerge, jeeps is at theforefront, helping our members
stay informed, connected andahead of the curve.
In this episode, we'reexploring how these changes are
shaping the future of what Jeepsis doing to support you let's
(00:23):
get started.
The future of what GEAPS isdoing to support you let's get
started.
Hello and welcome to the show.
Welcome to the Whole GrainPodcast.
My name is Jim Lenz, your hostand producer of the show and the
director of global educationand training at Cheaps, where
the mission of the GrainElevator and Processing Society
is to champion, connect andserve the global grain industry
and our members.
At Cheaps.
(00:44):
We work to be the globalcommunity and thought leader for
the grain industry, which feedsand fuels the world.
Thanks for listening today andfor joining the network of
thousands of other grainhandling and processing
professionals across the globetaking strategic steps to grow
professionally.
The Whole Grain Show will giveyou the competitive advantage to
win at work so you can makemore of an impact.
We thank all the listeners outthere.
(01:06):
In our two years with WholeGrain, we have listeners from 83
countries.
At this point.
We thank our whole Jeeps familyand grain industry
professionals for joining us.
Our guest today is John Caupert,Executive Director of Jeeps.
We'll discuss thetransformational shifts
happening in agriculture andwhat they mean for Jeep's
members, whilst we reflect onthe success of Jeep's Exchange
(01:27):
2025, the introduction of thegrain processing track, the
launch of our new Welcome to theGrain Industry course and the
Jeep's Grain Industry Glossaryall initiatives designed to
empower professionals like you.
All that and more coming upnext.
Today we have a very specialguest joining us, someone who
(01:56):
plays a key role in leadingJeeps into an exciting future.
John Caupert, the executivedirector of Jeeps, is here to
talk about the transformationalshifts happening in agriculture
and what that means for Jeepsmembers.
We just wrapped up JeepsExchange 2025, held February
22nd through the 25th at theKansas City Convention Center,
and it was an incredible event.
Today, we'll reflect on thehighlights of Exchange 2025,
(02:19):
explore new initiatives like thegrain processing track, the
launch of the new Welcome to theGrain Industry course and the
Jeep's Grain Industry Glossaryall designed to support our
members in the broader industry.
John, welcome to the WholeGrain Podcast.
Great to have you back.
John Caupert, Executive Dir (02:33):
Jim
, it's great to be here again,
very much looking forward tothis podcast, not only
reflecting on all the amazingthings that occurred at Exchange
but, as you mentioned, allthese new initiatives that
Jeep's is launching as we moveforward.
Jim Lenz, Director of Educat (02:46):
So
we just got done with Jeeps
Exchange, the biggest event inthe grain handling and
processing industry this year.
We saw a dynamic mix ofeducation, networking and
innovation.
John, can you give us and ourlisteners, your perspective on
how the event went overall?
John Caupert, Executive Di (03:02):
Yeah
, jim, I can.
Thank you so much for askingJeeps Exchange.
You know, after 2024, in theback of my mind, I wondered a
little bit about how are wegoing to top what we did in 2024
?
And then there was thefinancial downturn in the ag
economy throughout 2024.
I wondered just a little bitmore how are we going to top
(03:24):
what we did in 2024?
But we did top what we did in2024, and we did it in major
ways, record-setting ways,beginning with more than 3,900
registrants.
That's a 200-registrantincrease over 2024.
Over 2024.
In 2024, we had a sold out expoof 391 different companies.
(03:46):
Jeep's Exchange 2025, we had417 companies.
So, even with some of thechallenges that are out there in
the ag economy, what were thekey contributors to this
exchange success in 2025?
I'll list a few.
Number one, the grain processingtrack, as you referenced, Jim.
You know what that grainprocessing track did was it
(04:08):
brought for the first time inhistory.
For the first time in the95-year history of Jeep's
Exchange, it brought theagricultural commodity groups
National Corn GrowersAssociation, American Soybean
Association to Jeep's Exchange.
It also brought the RenewableFuels Association, a leading
(04:28):
biofuels trade association, toExchange 2025.
With the corn growers, with theAmerican Soybean Association
and with the Renewable FuelsAssociation, we talk all things
grain processing and how, whatfarmers do as members of corn
growers and American SoybeanAssociation and as ethanol plant
members do with Renewable FuelsAssociation, how they can work
(04:53):
with us at Jeeps and how we atJeeps can work with them in
return to promote things.
All things agriculture.
It was just fantastic, Jim.
It was absolutely fantastic.
Jim Lenz, Director of Educ (05:03):
That
makes this grain industry
smaller.
So many connections are madeand they did a lot of speaking
as well, besides networkingopportunities with these
different groups.
Yeah, that's a great start todescribe that.
One of the big themes this yearwas embracing transformational
shifts in agriculture.
How did that play into theeducational sessions and
discussions at Exchange?
John Caupert, (05:26):
Transformational
shifts is key right now, Jim,
and you know transformationalshifts is one of those areas
where you know what some mayview as a challenge, we at
Jeep's view as an opportunity.
Agriculture is going through acouple of transformational
shifts Frankly, transformationalshifts unlike anything that
we've seen since the early 1980s.
(05:46):
So I want to talk about both ofthose and how we saw this
reflected in a very positive way, not only in exchange, but with
what we're doing here at Jeepsthrough various new initiatives.
One of those transformationalshifts is in the workforce,
Agriculture in general.
We are an aging workforce.
We are retiring at a ratefaster than what we can be
(06:07):
replaced.
This is bringing a whole newgeneration of folks the non-farm
, the non-rural Americabackgrounded folks into
agriculture.
This is incredibly exciting.
These are folks who are new tothe grain industry.
Exciting, these are folks whoare new to the grain industry,
(06:28):
Jim.
We had more than 1,300first-time attendees at Jeep's
Exchange this year, and when weare offering member benefits,
such as the Welcome to the GrainIndustry course, which you
referenced, and the Jeep'sglossary of terms and phrases,
with more than 650 commonly usedterms and phrases, this is not
(06:50):
only an opportunity for us towelcome those who are new to
this industry.
It's an opportunity for us toeducate, motivate and inform
those, and we saw thisthroughout the expo and
educational sessions at Exchange.
Just incredibly exciting to seeall this opportunity with folks
(07:11):
not only new to Exchange but newto the industry.
Jim Lenz, Director of Educa (07:16):
One
of the things you just
mentioned was increase invendors and suppliers of the
industry.
People come there to get theirproblems solved, to get their
questions answered, and therereally is no better place to do
that in person.
It's hard to beat thatin-person thing, so let's kind
of focus on the Expo Hall rightnow.
Obviously one of the majorhighlights for the Jeeps
(07:36):
Exchange, highlights for theJEEPS exchange Based on your
conversations just to me, justthe surface area and the variety
and depth scope of all theproducts and services that can
support those in greenfacilities is immense.
It's just, it was a beautifulthing to see and there's a lot
of engagement.
(07:57):
So, focusing on the Expo HallHall from your standpoint, can
you describe some of thoseinnovation trends and any other
thing you noticed there?
John Caupert, Executive Dir (08:05):
Jim
, it was amazing You're
absolutely right of thisexpansive expo at Exchange 417
different companies representingalmost the entirety of the
value and the supply chain ofall things grain and grain
(08:29):
processing.
It's an image that I will carryfor a very, very long time,
some of the highlights not onlythe, you know, one major
highlight being just theexcitement of companies that
have always heard of exchange.
Maybe they attended exchange asa registrant but they hadn't
been an exhibitor before and nowthey are.
(08:52):
And when you talk to thosefolks they're like I maybe
haven't done this before, butyou know what, I'm in it now and
I'm here.
I'm here for the long term andthey tell you why.
And one of the reasons that theygive is the networking.
The opportunity to meet withexisting customers, new and old,
or prospect customers is allgreat.
(09:12):
Another real highlight, Ibelieve, of the expo floor is
where we're seeing more and morein the area of automation and
technology.
The world is evolving,agriculture is evolving, we're
becoming more dependent on newforms of automation and
technology, and seeing many ofthese cutting edge areas of
(09:35):
automation technology on theexpo floor again, Jim, I think
it just scratches the surface ofwhat future Jeeps exchanges are
possibly going to look like.
Jim Lenz, Director of Educa (09:47):
And
, of course, an event like
Exchange doesn't happen withoutincredible collaboration.
Can you talk about theengagement from our Chiefs
members and industry partnersthis year?
John Caupert, Executive Dir (09:58):
Jim
, the engagement was just
incredible.
It was absolutely incredible.
I'll start with the sponsorship.
A conference like JeepsExchange would not be possible
without our sponsors.
Exchange 2024, we had twoplatinum level sponsors.
Exchange 2025, we had fiveplatinum level sponsors.
(10:18):
We introduced a new level ofsponsorship at Exchange 2025.
And that was the opportunityfor a company, or, in this case,
two different companies, tosponsor the keynote session.
So it was fantastic to see thecoming together of our sponsors.
I've talked about our exhibitors, those 400 plus companies out
(10:38):
there exhibiting would not bepossible without them as well.
But it also goes a step furtherin the collaboration of our
membership.
Now Jeeps again, we use termslike community and thriving
community.
I actually like the term familybecause that's what we are.
We are a family of thirty fivehundred plus members, strong,
(11:02):
all in this together.
Right, we're taking grain andwe're feeding, fueling and
clothing the world from thesegrain products.
So see this collaboration andthe camaraderie that is built
from it, not only leading up toexchange, but then seeing it in
person at exchange.
I like to think, Jim, that atthe end of the day, that's what
(11:28):
you and I as staff with thisgreat organization, that that's
a measure of success, seeing thecollaboration and the
camaraderie that's built from it.
Jim Lenz, Director of Educ (11:34):
Yeah
, there are some great
opportunities all throughoutthis event and one of the
exciting additions this year wasthe introduction of the grain
processing track, as noted.
This really expands our focusbeyond grain handling into the
processing side of the industry.
John, what inspired this trackand how do you see it benefiting
our members and you were partof a panel as well Can you
(11:56):
describe that?
What are the talking points forthose who, as a review, for
those who attended and for thosewho have not?
In the trade show floor we hadsessions going on and then,
outside of that, the educationsessions.
We had other components of this.
Can you just kind of elaboratea little bit more on that?
John Caupert, Executive Direc (12:14):
I
can, Jim, you know.
First, I have to give credit toyou and everything that you're
doing and leading our educationtraining committee and these you
know kind of advancements intechnology and the grain
processing space.
I also have to give a lot ofcredit to the Exchange
Educational Planning Committee,which is made up of members,
volunteer members, staff liaisonbeing Betsy Poulis, staff
(12:35):
liaison being Betsy Poulis,because between you, Jim, with
what you and your team is doingon education and training Betsy,
the way she's leading theExchange Education Planning
Committee, they're recognizing asecond, one of these
transformational shifts.
The first one we already talkedabout, right, the changing
dynamic in the workforce.
But a second transformationalshift that's occurring is the
(12:59):
flow, if you will, of grainMeaning.
Where's our corn, soybeans,wheat, primarily grain sorghum,
rice?
Where is it going once itleaves the farm?
Well, one area in particularwhich is just continuing to grow
and develop is this processingarea of biofuels, now corn-based
(13:21):
ethanol.
No, it's not new, it's beenaround nearly 20 years.
But between 40 and 45 percentof our total corn crop in the
United States is going intoethanol production.
That's grain processing.
You're taking that individualkernel of corn and, through a
(13:41):
process called ethanolproduction, we're producing fuel
.
We're producing feed foranimals in the form of
distiller's grains.
We're producing a very pureform of corn oil.
This directly contributed tothe growth in Exchange Expo, as
(14:05):
well as a number of first-timeattendees at this year's
Exchange.
And I believe, Jim, now that wehave laid the foundation, if
you will, of grain processing,what we will see from Jeep's
Exchange forward is a continuingto build upon that and having
(14:25):
groups like corn growers,American Soybean Association,
Renewable Fuels Association andothers on board with this, jim,
as you said earlier, it reallybrings the family of agriculture
together as one.
Jim Lenz, Director o (14:39):
Absolutely
Good that you mentioned that.
Can you describe some of thosefolks that were brought in to
speak in the grain processingsector and some of the other key
points they made?
John Caupert, Executive Direc (14:51):
I
can.
Longtime friend Robert White,Senior Vice President of
Industry Relations of RenewableFuels Association.
Robert and I go back well over20 years.
He was with Kansas Corn GrowersAssociation when I was with
National Corn GrowersAssociation.
So 20 plus years ago, beforethe ethanol industry was a
household word, Robert and I wewere traveling the country
(15:14):
together promoting ethanol madefrom corn, ethanol made from
corn and how it could benefitAmerica's farmers, rural
communities, energy independence, contribution to GDP and all
these other areas.
(15:35):
And Robert is somewhat in aleague of his own because Robert
, like many of us, is a farm kid.
Robert started with Kansas CornGrowers Association before
moving into renewable fuels andwhat makes Robert very, very
special as a spokesperson onthese issues is he not only
understands it, he's worked itLiterally, from farm to fuel,
(15:57):
beginning with the farmer andending with the consumer
purchasing the fuel.
Robert has worked all thoseareas.
And for me, just on a specialnote you know Robert is Robert
White is also a decorated Armyveteran.
He served his country inuniform before servicing in his
(16:21):
country in the role that he doesnow and I just think that makes
him a very, very specialcomponent of what we did at
Jeeps Exchange and what thoseorganizations bring to Jeeps
Exchange.
Jim Lenz, Director of Edu (16:31):
Right
.
I think another thing to touchon is new offerings that we have
for Jeeps.
Members Welcome.
The Grain Industry Course isone of those things.
It's another major milestonefor Jeeps and it's designed for,
of course, newcomers, whetherthey're high school students,
college interns or new employeesto the industry.
John, can you tell us about thevision behind this course and
(16:54):
what makes it unique?
John Caupert, Executive Dir (16:56):
Jim
.
We have so many new initiativesand offerings coming in 2025.
It's kind of hard to containthe excitement on this, and who
knows?
maybe I shouldn't be containingthe excitement, because it is
exciting.
We have new member benefitscoming in the form of, as you
(17:17):
just mentioned, the Welcome tothe Grain Industry course.
What a wonderful, wonderfulintroductory course to those who
are new, but maybe not so newto the industry Old veterans
like me, you know.
There are things in this coursethat I can learn, or at least
be reminded of, and I think thatis fantastic.
(17:38):
We talked about this glossaryof terms, something that you and
your education trainingcommittee worked on, and many
other subject matter experts.
Again, over 650 commonly usedterms and phrases in the grain
industry.
What's important about that is,regardless of whether we've
been in the industry 30 days or30 years, this glossary is
(18:02):
something that all of us canutilize.
All of us can use this as aresource, which I think is great
, but these are member benefitsthere's things that we're also
doing to address the industry asa whole, for members and
non-members.
This podcast for members andnon-members, this podcast, I
think, is a fantastic example ofjust that.
(18:30):
This is a method and a manner bywhich we can speak directly to
our members and non-membersalike, which is wonderful.
Another new initiative is thisintern initiative, as we're
calling it, part of our studentmembership program at Jeeps.
We are working directly withthe ABCs of the grain industry.
We're working with companiesthat will hire between five and
300 interns this summer, whereJeeps will be working directly
(18:57):
with those companies under ourintern initiative to offer to
those college students servingan internship a full one-year
complimentary Jeeps membership.
And why is that important?
Well, it's not just important,it's critically important
Because, whether you're going toa four-year university, a
two-year community college or avocational or trade school, that
(19:21):
student who is serving aninternship today, they are the
workforce, they are the industryworkforce of tomorrow and they
are the industry leaders to come.
So, launching this initiativein 2025, again, I just think,
jim from an awareness standpoint, it brings Jeeps in contact
(19:44):
with this new layer of theworkforce, where we want to be
and need to be.
Jim Lenz, Director of Educ (19:48):
Good
overview.
Thank you for sharing that.
Like for the grain industryglossary, it's at jeepscom
forward slash glossary.
You know so many times peoplecan speak in acronyms in any
industry.
Certainly is the case here.
There's new terms and you knowit's a quick resource that
people can get to on any devicethat they're on, whether it's
your phone, your tablet or alaptop, whatever it may be.
(20:08):
So that helps in that area.
And again, the green industrycourse helps for those who are
new to the industry and alsoprovides a guide for continual
professional development andsupport them throughout their
career.
So it's exciting.
We have a new initiative we'llsee in 2025 and beyond.
We're excited about that.
Any last wrap-up summarystatements before we conclude
(20:29):
here today.
John Caupert, Executive Di (20:30):
Just
a couple things, Jim.
This is a message straight toour members, but then I also
have a message for ournon-members, or potential
members that are out there.
Number one, to our members wethank you.
Jeeps is a member-drivenorganization first and foremost.
We are here for our members andwe thank you for your
(20:51):
membership.
To our non-members, we welcomeyou to join our family.
As I mentioned, we frequentlyspeak about being this community
, this thriving community offolks employed in the grain and
grain processing industry.
Again, we're 3,500 plus membersstrong and we're looking to add
a membership to the student, tothe person that might be a
(21:26):
facility manager or a facilitysuperintendent, where they have
interest in multiple folks thatare part of their organization.
Becoming a member Jeeps trulyhas something for everybody,
which I think makes us unique.
So, again to our members, wethank you for your membership.
To those non-members that havebeen thinking about a Jeeps
membership or would like tolearn more, we'd entertain that
(21:49):
conversation and appreciate theopportunity.
Jim Lenz, Director of Edu (21:51):
Great
wrap up, John.
Thank you again for joining ushere on the Whole Grain Podcast.
We look forward to connectingwith more members virtually, and
plus we have a lot of in-personevents coming up as well.
I'll leave that in the shownotes.
I'll also put that in the outrofor this show.
But thank you so much, John.
John Caupert, Executive Dir (22:08):
Yep
.
Thank you, Jim, it's been apleasure.
Jim Lenz, Director of Educ (22:11):
That
wraps up another episode of the
Whole Grain Podcast.
A big thank you to John Cowpertfor sharing his insights on the
transformational shiftshappening in agriculture and
what that means for Jeepsmembers in the greater grain
community.
If you found today'sconversation valuable, be sure
to hit the subscribe button onyour favorite podcast platform,
whether it's Apple Podcasts,youtube Podcasts, spotify,
pandora, amazon Music orwherever you listen YouTube
(22:32):
podcasts, Spotify, pandora,amazon Music or wherever you
listen.
You can also find the WholeGrain podcast on the Jeeps
website at www.
geaps.
com slash wholegrain.
Be sure to share this with yourfriends and colleagues.
Don't forget about the new freemember benefits.
Jeeps is excited to offer twonew member exclusive resources
(22:54):
to support new employees andhiring managers.
The Welcome to Grain Industrycourse is a complementary
interactive introduction to thegrain industry designed for
newer employees.
This self-paced online courseincludes videos, interactive
activities and expert insightsto help participants build
foundational knowledge,understand industry significance
and gain confidence as theystart their careers.
A certificate of coursecompletion is awarded at the end
(23:14):
to add value to theirprofessional portfolio.
The Jeeps Glossary is apractical tool for clarifying
terminology across teams in theindustry.
This resource ensuresconsistent understanding of key
industry terms and acronyms,making it ideal for onboarding
and team development.
There are still more ways togrow with Jeeps.
Looking for additional learningopportunities, jeeps offers 25
(23:35):
online on-demand coursescovering essential topics for
both newcomers and industryveterans.
We also provide a one-of-a-kindJeep's credentialing program,
giving you the opportunity toearn credentials that
demonstrate your expertise,commitment and ability to grow
within the industry.
Jeep's credentials include theCredential and Grain Operations
Management, the Specialist inGrain Quality Management.
(23:56):
Specialist in Grain HandlingEquipment Management.
A Specialist in Property andCasualty Risk Management, a
Master in Credential and GrainOperations Management and the
Credential and Grain ProcessingManagement.
Beyond credentialing, jeepsprovides an ongoing lineup of
webinars, a video library packedwith hundreds of searchable
industry videos and the biggestevent in the grain industry, the
(24:17):
Jeeps Exchange.
We'll see you next time.
University for two in-persontraining events the hands-on
training for the operation andmaintenance of conveying
equipment and the green elevatormanager's course.
Check out the Jeeps website atwww.
(24:41):
geaps.
com, that is, g-e-a-p-s dot com,for all the details.
Finally, if your organizationis interested in sponsoring an
episode, being a featured guestor placing an audio commercial
on a future episode, I'd love toconnect with you.
Reach out to me, Jim Lenz,director of Global Education and
Training at Jeeps, atjames@geaps.
com.
Thanks for listening and untilnext time, stay safe, stay
(25:04):
informed and keep making animpact in the green industry.
Have yourself a great day.