North Dakota’s $160 Million Ag Tech Secret
North Dakota hit the big leagues of agricultural innovation, but it's stayed quiet until now.
In this episode of The Backstory, Sabrina Halvorson talks with reporter Michael Standaert about how North Dakota quietly secured a position as one of the nation’s premier agricultural technology hubs through a massive federal initiative.
Listen now:
Standaert discusses the National Science Foundation’s backing of the state's AgTech Engine, which brings up to $160 million in grant funding over a decade to accelerate precision agriculture and autonomous equipment. The conversation details how the engine serves as an advisory bridge for startups without taking intellectual property, relying on key local partnerships with NDSU Extension, Grand Farm, the Fargo-Moorhead Chamber, and the Fargo-Moorhead Economic Development Corporation.
“Ag tech has been kind of a buzzword for a long time, but they hope that something like this will really help things go forward a lot faster.” - Michael Standaert, North Dakota News Cooperative Reporter
Read more on the topic here.
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The North Dakota News Cooperative is a nonprofit news organization providing reliable and independent reporting on issues and events that impact the lives of North Dakotans. The organization increases the public’s access to quality journalism and advances news literacy across the state.
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