North Dakota Department of Commerce Division of : APUC to Review Funding Requests Totaling $693,000

Bismarck, N.D. -- The North Dakota Agricultural Products Utilization Commission (APUC) will review funding requests for nine projects totaling $693,000 at its quarterly meeting February 21 in Bismarck.

APUC is a program of the North Dakota Department of Commerce that administers grant programs for research and development of new and expanded uses for North Dakota agricultural products. The grants can be used for basic and applied research, marketing and utilization, farm diversification, nature-based agritourism, prototype and technology and technical assistance.

The following requests will be reviewed:

Black Leg Ranch (McKenzie) is requesting $52,715 to build an outdoor patio and meeting area. This meeting space will overlook native grasslands and prairie flowers. Contact Jay Doan at [phone].

Rolling Plains Adventures (Sterling) is requesting $28,074 to plant an integrated cover crop/food plot area. This cover crop/food plot will immediately enhance the wildlife population while also maintaining soil health. Contact Jeremy Doan at [phone].

Vision West ND (Dickinson) is requesting $53,315 to conduct a feasibility study to determine the opportunities and interest in the region for a successful food hub. The study will focus on potential locations for distribution and identify organizational models for the food hubs. Contact Debra Nelson at [phone].

Rural Economic Area Partnership Investment Fund (Dickinson) is requesting $91,350 to provide services to producers and growers for the sale of raw agricultural products including grapes, fruits, berries and vegetables to North Dakota wineries. The funds will also be used to create a website to sell local foods to wineries in North Dakota or other food markets. Contact Shirley Brentrup at [phone].

Grand Prairie Agriculture (Devils Lake) is requesting $26,460 to support initial project engineering to produce a farrow-to-wean sow farm, focusing on gilt production. The project will impact local farmers with another market for their products and provide another fertilizer source in the area. Contact Daniel Julson at [phone].

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (Fargo) is requesting $93,318 to support preliminary engineering costs for a protein production facility to be located in North Dakota. Contact Mike Keller at [phone].

Red River BioRefinery (Grand Forks) is requesting $253,000 to complete the engineering phase for a fully integrated biorefinery, which will be one of the largest advanced ethanol producers in the U.S. Contact Keshav Rajpal at [phone].

Safflower Technologies International (Williston) is requesting $27,775 to complete a study for a specialty non-GMO oilseed processing facility with cold press or expeller press system technology for a range of oilseed processing and refining capabilities. Contact Michael Bergman at [phone].

Rapha Global Corporation (Tappen) is requesting $67,000 to market flax seed products and flax hull lignans (FHL). The company will focus their efforts on developing health products for protection from major diseases. Contact Lon Cummings at [phone].

APUC is an office within Economic Development and Finance, a division of the North Dakota Department of Commerce.

For additional program information please visit North Dakota APUC at www.NDAPUC.com or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NDAPUC.

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