Rich Land.
Rich Opportunities.

From local businesses to large-scale corporations, Grand Forks is home to many major employers within the agribusiness industry. American Crystal Sugar, located in East Grand Forks, is a major producer of sugar beets. In fact, about 2,800 farmers who live in the Red River Valley region grow sugar beets for the company. International food and agriculture company J. R. Simplot Company is one of the largest privately held firms in the country, with annual sales of about $4.5 billion. North Dakota Mill & Elevator has been milling wheat in Grand Forks since 1922. The North Dakota Mill supports the local economy with a payroll of $14 million annually.

With over 5,000 ag production jobs in the region, Grand Forks is home to a strong agribusiness workforce that continues to grow every year. 27% of manufacturing jobs in the region are agriculture-related, due to strong ties between advanced manufacturing and the local agriculture industry.

The state of North Dakota provides fertile soil for plenty of agricultural research to take place. The Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center is a major research facility located at the University of North Dakota. Staffed by 13 senior scientists and 80 support personnel, the 92,000-square-foot building contains biochemical laboratories and state-of-the-art facilities for research with humans and animals. The center is operated by the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, with a mission to conduct basic and applied research to understand how nutrients and other bioactive food components affect human health. In addition, Grand Forks continues to innovate in the agribusiness field by conducting research involving the use of autonomous and unmanned vehicles for precision agriculture.