2024 must be the year for Land Grant Universities to open new agriculture research buildings. Yesterday, June 12th, North Dakota State University had a groundbreaking ceremony for the Bolley Agricultural Laboratory and a dedication ceremony for the newly constructed Peltier Complex less than a month after Montana State University broke ground on their new combined labs building.
The North Dakota Legislature appropriated $87 million for the construction of this facility during the 2023 legislative session, which has been matched with $3.6 million in philanthropic funds.
The Bolley Agricultural Laboratory will serve as NDSU’s new agricultural research laboratory and will be one of the largest capital construction projects in NDSU history housing a variety of agricultural research programs, including plant pathology, plant breeding, weed science, agronomy, soil science and horticulture. The laboratory’s namesake, Henry L. Bolley, was one of the first faculty members at North Dakota Agricultural College, now NDSU.
State Board of Agricultural Research and Education Chair, Sarah Lovas represented the Bolley Agricultural Lab and called attention to the 25 percent return on investment with ag research. Lovas said without the research to support crop production, she doesn’t know if NDSU would be as competitive as they are
In addition to the Bolley Lab, the Peltier Complex is a state-of-the-art agricultural facility designed to better serve NDSU students and faculty, as well as the industry across the state, region and beyond, and will support research involving food science, meat science, muscle biology, food safety, nutrition, consumer sensory traits and the development of new agricultural products.
The complex is named after the Peltier family, one of the region’s most longstanding supporters of teaching, research and extension in agriculture, who gave a naming rights gift to support the private fundraising portion of the project. During the celebration of the opening ceremony on Wednesday, President Keith Peltier represented the family emphasizing how this deal will be beneficial to everyone.
In addition to the Peltier family, numerous gift commitments were made by several commodity groups, alumni, businesses and friends of NDSU and the NCI as part of NDSU’s $455 million In Our Hands fundraising campaign.
Construction is anticipated to begin in the upcoming months of this summer.
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Red River Farm Network
Noth Dakota State University
