07.22.24

Hoeven: AGT’s $10 Million Expansion Further Solidifies North Dakota as an Ag Powerhouse for the World

Senator Discusses Value-Added Facility’s Benefits to Pulse Growers, Efforts to Keep the Farm in the Farm Bill

MINOT, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today marked the grand opening of AGT Foods’ $10 million expansion at its extrusion plant in Minot. AGT’s expansion adds 25 jobs to the plant and will further support the export of local pulse crops, including lentils, dry peas, dry beans and chickpeas, to countries around the globe. North Dakota is a top U.S. producer of pulse crops, which dovetails with AGT’s role as one of the world’s leading suppliers of value-added pulses, staple foods and food ingredients with locations in more than 45 countries.

Both as governor and U.S. Senator, Hoeven has worked to advance investment in value-added agriculture in North Dakota, which both diversifies the economy and creates new markets for farmers, including the state’s pulse crop producers. Specifically, Hoeven efforts include:

  • Securing support for agriculture research under the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and land-grant universities like North Dakota State University (NDSU).
    • This includes annual funding Hoeven secures as Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee for pulse crop research.
    • The senator worked to provide nearly $9 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 for pulse crop research, much of which takes place at the ARS facility in Fargo.

“North Dakota is the number one producer of pulse crops in the nation, and that comes as a result of our efforts to attract added-value agriculture investments, like AGT’s recent expansion, which gives our pulse growers a local market and reduced transportation costs,” said Senator Hoeven. “Value-added processing facilities like this solidify our state as an ag powerhouse for the world. That’s exactly why I’ve worked since my time as governor to prioritize projects like AGT’s extrusion plant, while supporting agriculture research to strengthen our ability to grow all kinds of crops in our state with better yields and lower input costs. However, at the end of the day, all of this hinges on providing an adequate safety net for our producers, so they can continue growing the highest-quality, lowest-cost food supply in the world. That is why we continue our efforts to keep the farm in the farm bill.”

          Hoeven is working as a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee to make needed investments in the farm safety net, as well as provide the tools farmers need to maintain and expand their operations. To this end, Hoeven is working to include the following priorities in the next farm bill:

  • Maintaining and strengthening crop insurance, the primary risk management tool for many producers.
    • Improving the affordability of higher levels of coverage will better enable producers to weather natural disasters and reduce the need for ad-hoc disaster assistance.
  • Updating and improving the counter-cyclical safety net, including the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs.
    • Hoeven stated that reference prices need to reflect market realities and the cost of production that farmers are currently facing.
  • Ensuring adequate access to credit by passing his legislation to modernize Farm Service Agency (FSA) loan limits as part of the Farm Bill.
  • Making sure programs are voluntary and farmer-friendly, instead of one-size-fits-all, to reduce the regulatory burden on producers.

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