Five years in the making, the Ag Innovation Campus (AIC) in Crookston, Minnesota, held its phase one grand opening on September 14.
As a not-for-profit crush facility, the AIC will produce an estimated 240 tons of soybean meal daily, equaling a grand total of 62,400 tons of soybean meal per year. With three independently operated mechanic crush systems, the AIC will be able to crush organic, non-GMO and GMO soybeans.
“We are super excited about the Grand Opening,” said Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council chair Tom Frisch, who also serves as AIC treasurer. “Once we get the crushing plant up and running, AIC can start on phase two and three, which will bring the entire vision to life.”
The crush plant is only the first phase in this three-phase project. Phase two will feature an office complex and research labs. Phase three consists of rentable discovery bays that will be available for short to midterm use. Companies can then use the space to prove their designs at full production scale. The “Crushwalk” will also allow visitors to view the processing facility in a safe and bio secure manner.
Spearheaded by Minnesota’s farmers, the AIC is designed to serve as an incubator for agricultural innovations, with a goal to foster new and novel products, create jobs and increase the value of agriculture in the region, state and nation.
With its specialty crushing facility, AIC will allow universities, commodity groups and private seed developers access to affordable processing that aims to lower costs while promoting growth of value-added products. Once established, the Campus will be home to private industries to create products to benefit all parties, from farm gate to consumers.
