The North Dakota Agricultural Products Utilization Commission will review funding requests for five projects totaling $170,320 at its quarterly meeting set for Nov. 17 at the AmericInn in Valley City.
APUC is a program of the North Dakota Department of Commerce which administers grant programs for researching and developing new and expanded uses for North Dakota agricultural products. The grants can be used for basic and applied research, marketing and utilization, farm diversification, nature based agri-tourism, prototype and technology, and technical assistance.
The following requests will be reviewed:
* Cutbank Creek, Minot, is requesting $10,000 to support an operation expansion to allow an on-farm U-pick site. Funding will also assist in promoting wholesale marketing to area and regional grocery stores, expanded farmers markets and agri-tourism to their U-pick site. For more information, contact Peggy Walter at 701-852-8787.
* NDSU Dept of Plant Sciences, Fargo, is requesting $25,360 to assist in conducting a feasibility study of growing selected vegetables using LEP (light emitting plasma) light. LEP lamps are similar to sunlight with extremely high light intensity. The study will explore the feasibility of establishing an energy-efficient system. For more information, contact Chiwon Lee at 701-231-8062.
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* Ron Iverson LLC, Fargo, is requesting $50,000 to defray the costs of a feasibility study to be conducted for a cereal pant that will manufacture regular, gluten free, and organic cereal's for human consumption. Funds would also be utilized to develop and finalize a business plan which is necessary to launch the facility. For more information, contact Ron Iverson at 701-793-9272.
* NDSU Dept of Agribusiness and Applied Economics, Fargo, is requesting $59,960 to assist in defraying the cost of hiring a research scientist to conduct an analysis of the use of flared gas as a feedstock to produce a low-cost, reliable, and green supply of nitrogen fertilizer for North Dakota farmers. Prospective commercialization of flared-gas based nitrogen fertilizer will spur rural development, increase farm-level productivity and profitability, and provide added value to agricultural products. For more information, contact Cole Gustafson at 701-231-7096.
* InvenTus, LLC, Mapleton, is requesting $25,000 to complete the electronics and supply portion of a prototype Hydro-Pack. This project is a fuel economy cell to be mounted with gas or diesel engines to conserve 30 percent in fuel usage. For more information, contact Norm Miller at 701-200-2038.
