Minnesota Ag Innovation Campus Closes

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- In 2020 ag leaders and elected officials broke ground on an ag innovation campus that included a soybean crushing facility in Crookston, Minnesota. On Monday, the board of directors for the campus announced the facility was closing one year after launching operations.

The plant was damaged by a fire in the bean conditioning system in August.

"We must announce with deep regret that the operations of the Ag Innovation Campus processing plant have come to an end," the board of directors said in a statement on Monday.

"At our groundbreaking event, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz recognized that this was a bold idea. It certainly was and everyone involved gave it a valiant effort that we are all proud of. The vision and mission were to serve as an incubator for agricultural innovations with the goal of fostering new and novel products, creating jobs and increasing the value of agriculture in the region, state and nation."

KROX radio in Crookston reported on Monday that at its peak, the campus housed 18 employees. The remaining five employees were released about two weeks ago, according to KROX.

The board of directors said in a statement posted to the campus website that the process of refunding money invested in the project has started. The project was touted as a potential economic engine for the region.

In addition to receiving loans and private investments, the project also received about $5 million in state funds following a push by the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association in 2019.

The 10-acre campus was touted as a location for universities, commodity groups and seed developers to access affordable processing. The soybean crush facility had the capacity to crush more than 60,000 tons of soybean meal annually while creating up to 60 jobs.

"This was a big goal, and with the help of several research-oriented organizations, we believe we were on the right path and had made strides to establish innovative processes for value-added soybean products," the board of directors said in a statement.

"While our board of directors strongly believes in the AIC mission and has put in years of volunteer effort to advance the AIC mission, it has come time to bring the process to an end."

The board has started the process of helping investors recover funds to "the extent possible."

That includes putting in place an assignee or receiver who will be responsible for collecting and distributing proceeds from the sale of campus assets.

"The AIC board of directors has been grateful for the support of the community and the many organizations that have contributed time and financial resources to the AIC effort," the board said in a statement.

When contacted by DTN on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association declined further comment and referred to the statement posted to the campus website.

The board of directors has assigned Alex Smith with Creative Planning Business Alliance LLC, as the receiver. He can be contacted at 303-249-7917.

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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