Community members, local and regional dignitaries, area farmers and media earned their first look at the new cutting-edge Ag Innovation Campus (AIC) in Crookston. The AIC hosted its grand opening ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 14, with an open house, tours and remarks from AIC officials and those involved in the creation of the facility.
For the leaders who helped make the AIC a reality, the grand opening was a triumphant moment and signaled huge opportunities for the region’s ag economy.
“What makes this facility so amazing is the vision and the mission that it is going to hold for agriculture,” Acting AIC CEO Tom Slunecka said in his opening remarks. “Not only will the AIC empower the value of agriculture in the region and add value with new employees to the city of Crookston, but this facility is going to change agriculture as a whole.”
After nearly five years of advocating, planning and construction, the Ag Innovation Campus facility itself is complete, but is awaiting a few final components before launching formal operations in the coming weeks.
Once running, this not-for-profit facility 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.
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.
To learn more about the Ag Innovation Campus visit www.aginnovationcampus.org.
AIC news release
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