The Cereal Grain Café
All things related to cereal grains. Join host Dr. Kurt Rosentrater and his guests as they talk about grain, from farm to table, from ancient history to modern technologies, and everything in between. Grain has played a critical role in human societies throughout history, and it continues to even today.
Episodes
36 episodes
Season 3, Episode 1 - Ancient to modern durum wheat with Dr. Marina Mefleh
Welcome to 2025! Food, nutrition, science, education, and communication. All of these are critical to being an effective food scientist, cereal scientist, and food engineer.Today’s guest is Dr. Marina Mefleh. She is a P...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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41:30
Season 2, Episode 15 - Ram Ramakrishna on Publishing
So what? Who cares? As scientists, a key component of our jobs to publish our results in peer-reviewed journals. But many of us also publish books and use other means of communication for our science.Our guest this wee...
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Season 2
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Episode 15
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30:28
Season 2, Episode 14 - Insects with Dr. Tom Phillips
When you think of insects, what comes to mind? Mosquitos? Spiders? What about weevils and other grain storage pests? In the world of cereal grains these can have huge impacts no matter which country you are talking abo...
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Season 2
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Episode 14
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1:31:59
Season 2, Episode 13 - Sustainable Development Goals with ISU Honors students
How do we save the world? Does it really need saving? What problems do we need to address? What role do food and agriculture play? And, where do we begin?In this episode I have a conversation with one of my class...
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Season 2
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Episode 13
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1:01:18
Season 2, Episode 12 - Alternative storage technologies with Graham Thorpe
As corn and soybean harvest progresses in the USA (almost all of the wheat crop has already been harvested), we have to consider grain quality and preservation. Drying and aeration is important due to the potential of mold an...
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Season 2
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Episode 12
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1:05:00
Season 2, Episode 11 - Grain aeration with Ken Hellevang
Corn and soybean harvest has begun in central Iowa. As harvest progresses, make sure to watch out for farm equipment during your commute each day. In addition to physical safety, it is important to consider grain quality and preserv...
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Season 2
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Episode 11
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1:34:48
Season 2, Episode 10 - Safety with Carol Jones
Hopefully everyone is staying safe out there! The grain industry can be a dangerous place to work! Whether you are working with grain storage, drying, handling, or processing, there are always things that can go wrong. On this...
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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1:07:25
Season 2, Episode 9 - Safety with Gretchen Mosher
Have you ever slipped on the ice? Or twisted your ankle? What about being engulfed in grain? Working in the grain industry can be dangerous, even fatal. Whether we consider what happens on the farm or at the factory, saf...
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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1:01:59
Season 2, Episode 8 - Sustainability with Lara Moody
Have you noticed that the word “sustainability” has been used a lot in recent years? What about “climate smart” or “regenerative agriculture”? What do these actually mean? Actually, the agriculture and food industries have bee...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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1:01:05
Season 2, Episode 7 - Agriculture in Croatia with Ana Matin and Mateja Grubor
Are you a fan of Game of Thrones? Did you know that it was filmed in Croatia? When I envision Croatia, I think about agriculture, farming, and landscapes. But I’m a big fan of cereal grains, as many of you know. ...
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50:06
Season 2, Episode 6 - Soil with Amber Anderson
Over the past year, we’ve spent a lot of time talking about grains, their history, their processing, and their use. But, we have not yet spent time talking about grain production. We need to talk about these aspects.So, in to...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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1:06:35
Season 2, Episode 5 - Breakfast Cereals with Kathryn Dolan
How did you start your day? Did you eat breakfast?If so, what did you eat? Do you ever eat breakfast cereal?Personally, I eat cereal any time of day – it is a perfect snack for me!Breakfast cereal has a long a...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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1:48:12
Season 2, Episode 4 - Oceans of Grain with Scott Reynolds Nelson
Did you know that Russia and the U.S. have been competing to feed the world as far back as the late 1700s?Today's guest is Dr. Scott Reynolds Nelson, who's book Oceans of Grain describes how the flow of wheat has been a maker or b...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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1:21:58
Season 2, Episode 3 - Whole Grains with Marlene Bumgarner
Whole grains? Organic foods? Recipes? History?This week we talk with Marlene Bumgarner about all of these topics. She is the author of The New Book of Whole Grains (and several other books as well) in which she weave...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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54:34
Season 2, Episode 2 - A Conversation with Liz Carlisle
Have you ever eaten Pharoah's Bread (I found this in Paris, of all places!)? Or heard of King Tut Wheat? In this episode we talk to Dr. Liz Carlisle about her journey into the world of Kamut - an...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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1:17:03
Season 2, Episode 1 - Student Perspectives on Agriculture
Welcome to the first episode of Season 2! Have you ever wondered what students think about the things that they are learning? I decided it was time to hear their thoughts. Join me as we discuss what we have been learning in a ...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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1:25:27
Season 1, Episode 20
Have you eaten corn recently? Have you filled your car with ethanol this week? How did the simple grass teosinte evolve to become corn, one of the most important cereal grains on the planet? Join me for our last interview of 2...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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1:21:46
Season 1, Episode 19
How long have humans been storing grain? If you listened to the last episode you may recall that it has been at least 11,000 years. This episode is the second element of a duet which is focused on history. It was an honor to t...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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1:24:32
Season 1, Episode 18
The ways that we do things today have been informed by the ways that humans have done them throughout our history. How long have humans been cultivating, harvesting, storing, and eating grain? Can you believe that the archaeological...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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1:23:55
Season 1, Episode 17
Have you ever driven through the countryside and seen large steel or concrete structures in the distance? Alas, they are probably not castles. Although some people do refer to these the "castles of the prairies". They are like...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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41:39
Season 1, Episode 16
Rashid Suleiman is a Lecturer and Head of the Department of Food Science and Agroprocessing at Sokoine University of Agriculture where he is responsible for leading the department, and teaching food science and biological systems subjects. He s...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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47:04
Season 1, Episode 15
Today’s guest was Dr. Julia Pezzali. We discussed her work on pet food nutrition as well as a variety of other topics. She is doing some really interesting work on use of cereal grains in pet foods. More information can be fou...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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39:41
Season 1, Episode 14
Today’s guest was Dr. Thomas Sinclair, and we discussed his book “Bread, Beer, and the Seeds of Change: Agriculture’s Imprint on World History”. It is a fascinating journey through the history of grains, foods, and humans. I highly ...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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1:08:05