The National Agricultural Genotyping Center officially opens its doors today with representatives from government and industry on hand for the grand opening of the new facility. Together North Dakota Ag Commissioner Goehring, Fargo Mayor Mahoney, legislative staff and agricultural association leadership discussed the center’s possibilities while touring the state-of-the-art laboratories.
“This facility is the first of its kind for a farmer-led association, giving growers more influence on research agendas,” said Larry Hoffmann, chair of the Research and Business Development Action Team. “NAGC will help growers increase production and lower costs. With so many stakeholders on hand and actively expressing interest, it was apparent to all present that the exciting potential for innovation is enormous and will lead to concrete results that can strengthen the bottom line for U.S. farmers.”
The National Agricultural Genotyping Center will translate scientific discoveries, such as the information from the maize genome project, into solutions for production agriculture, food safety, functional foods, bioenergy and national security.
The NAGC partnership brings together Los Alamos National Laboratory, the premier research institution in the world with a proven track record in developing high-throughput genotyping technology, and the National Corn Growers Association, an organization representing more than 42,000 farmer members.