North Dakota
Science and Technology Plan

targeted industries: Food and Agriculture

Agriculture is a leading industry in North Dakota providing 28.4% of our gross business volume and one of every five jobs in North Dakota is related to agriculture. While crop production agriculture comprises the largest sector of the agriculture economy in North Dakota, North Dakota is working to diversify and grow its economy by investing in the development of value-added agriculture and precision agriculture.

Value-added agriculture focuses on production and manufacturing processes that increase the value of a primary agricultural commodity resulting in the transformation of raw commodities to products desired by consumers. 

The agricultural sector in North Dakota has also evolved with advancements in technology and sustainable farming practices. Farmers are increasingly adopting precision agriculture techniques, incorporating data-driven decision-making and innovative machinery to optimize crop yields while minimizing environmental impact. Furthermore, the state's strong agricultural research institutions, like North Dakota State University (NDSU), drive innovation in crop genetics, soil health, and agricultural engineering, bolstering the competitiveness of North Dakota's agricultural products in domestic and global markets.

Precision agriculture enables farmers to more accurately evaluate soil variability, noxious plants, disease, and other elements influencing crop quality and customize the inputs and time required for optimal yields, efficiency, and safety. As a result, food quality and attainability improve for customers and production is more cost-effective. In North Dakota, over 54% (the highest percentage nationwide) of producers use precision agriculture. 

Research and Educational opportunities

NDSU is home to one of the first precision agriculture majors at the bachelor's level in the U.S., which will be leveraged to train the next generation of workforce, including UAS. The Big Data Pipeline Unit under the auspices of the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station (NDAES) at NDSU. Current agricultural and natural resources/environmental research uses advanced techniques in data management, data analysis and visualization. The Unit applies data science tools like advanced statistical, AI techniques, database technologies, and software engineering applied to agricultural issues.

In addition, Lake Region State College and North Dakota State College of Science, offer in Precision Agriculture programs at the associate degrees level and Bismarck State College offers Precision Agriculture courses as part of its Agriculture programs and degrees.

All five of North Dakota's Tribal Colleges and Universities are 1994 land grant institutions, with academic offerings, research and extension in areas like sustainable food systems, reclamation of ancestral farming practices and crop varieties, Indigenous food sovereignty, to name a few. 

Statewide network of research, education, and outreach through the NDSU Extension Service and ND Agricultural Experiment Station.
 

Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites (CB2) is a National Science Foundation Industry & University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) whose focus is to develop products for agricultural and forestry feedstocks, plastics, coatings, adhesives and composites. This is a collaborative effort between NDSU, Iowa State University, Washington State University, University of Georgia and over 20 industry members to make commercially relevant products. 

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North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network (NDAWN) is a network (mesonet) consisting of over 150 weather stations distributed across North Dakota, eastern Montana, and western Minnesota which provide weather updates every five minutes that are aggregated, checked for quality control and loaded into the NDAWN database which is available to the general public at no charge. NDAWN has been supported by gifts and grants from Federal and State Agencies, Commodity Organizations, Agricultural Clubs, producers, businesses and individuals since its inception in 1989 and is operated cooperatively by the NDSU School of Natural Resource Sciences and the High Plains Regional Climate Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. 

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Additional Areas of Research Supporting Food and Agriculture 

• Public Health and Global Nutrition (includes generating new, high-nutrition public plant varieties)

• Precision agriculture

• Pollinators

• Climate smart agriculture including decarbonization practices like carbon trading

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Emerging AND New Research Areas for Agriculture

• Cybersecurity and food systems vulnerability

• Controlled environment agriculture, especially greenhouse production

• Environmental research related to salt, water, and soil

• Digital technology to increase production

• Sensors to increase farming efficiency

• Precision agriculture economics

• Remote sensing and satellite imaging technology

• Soil health/soil function

• Plant physiology

• Improved plant genetics

• Development of new biobased materials

• Regenerative agriculture

• Food sovereignty

• Hydroponics