FARGO, N.D. – October 8, 2026 – On October 5th, 2026, Emerging Prairie had two reasons to celebrate: the groundbreaking of Phase II at the Grand Farm Innovation Campus and $5 million in new funding awarded by the Economic Development Administration. The funding will be used in part to construct a 15,000-square-foot Indoor AgTech Test Track at the Grand Farm campus near Wheatland, N.D., in addition to purchasing a tracked tractor and high-clearance sprayer for field operations, research trials, and cold-weather demonstration plots.
In attendance to help celebrate Grand Farm’s impressive advancement and the continued commitment of both State and Federal leaders were U.S. Senator John Hoeven, U.S. Senator and Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee Dr. John Boozman, University of Arkansas’ Vice President of the Division of Agriculture Dr. Deacue Fields, USDA’s Dr. Steven Mirsky, Microsoft’s Taya Spelhaug, North Dakota legislators, and other key Grand Farm partners.
Led by Emerging Prairie, Grand Farm initially kicked off in 2019 with a shared vision to create a place where growers, researchers, startups, corporations, educators, and public leaders could come together to solve agricultural problems with applied technology. Grand Farm describes the Innovation Campus as a “global destination for agricultural innovation with North Dakota positioned as a center for AgTech development.”
Phase I was the beginning of Grand Farm’s vision, starting with a 140-acre home and its 25,000-square-foot Innovation Shop, designed by JLG Architects. As envisioned, the Grand Farm Innovation Shop has become the hub of partner collaboration, education, and innovation. Today, Grand Farm is 590 acres and a local and global network of more than 3,500 collaborative organizations. According to Emerging Prairie’s COO Brian Carroll, Grand Farm is succeeding at bringing farmers together with technologists, researchers, and community members to solve problems around agriculture, so far hosting over 15,000 visitors, 300 different events, and several start-up trials and partner trials.
Phase II
In close collaboration with the Grand Farm team, JLG Architects, Confluence, and MBN Engineering’s work on Phase II of the master plan takes the original vision further, adding an 8,500-square-foot Field Operations Facility. Phase II envisions an expanded campus where growers, startups, corporations, educators, and researchers can meet, explore new technology year-round, host workshops, collaborate, and test ideas together.
One of the testing projects demonstrated at the groundbreaking event included BenchBot, an autonomous, rail-based imaging system that will support research into weed control.
JLG Architects’ Principal Architect Rob Remark has worked closely with Grand Farm on the vision since 2022, sharing, “It is immensely rewarding to work with a visionary partner like Grand Farm that brings design teams to the table at the ground level. The Grand Farm team is proactive, approaching every acre and every investment with an eye toward how it will serve the next decade of agriculture. The master planning work isn’t just about designing physical infrastructure; it is about honoring Grand Farm’s broader mission. By being strategic stewards of the land and resources today, we are creating a campus framework where every move compounds in value.”
Phase II is designed to attract and establish new long-term partnerships with leading-edge AgTech companies, joining the campus’s anchor tenant – AGCO’s Precision Technology Institute. Phase II will not just bring the infrastructure and land to support additional partners, it will also support expansion of autonomous equipment and robotics, drones, precision agriculture, smart spraying, sensing and data technologies, and more.
The project’s infrastructure and research expansion is already underway through support from the state of North Dakota’s Autonomous Agriculture Grant Program, allowing Grand Farm to create a purpose-built AgTech ecosystem that can evolve alongside the challenges and opportunities facing agriculture.
Want to learn more about opportunities to support Grand Farm’s vision? Visit the Grand Farm Innovation Campus Capital Campaign.
