AMES, Iowa – NEW Cooperative has committed a $350,000 gift to Iowa State University’s feed mill and grain science complex, the latest organization to commit to the facility.
“We are so thankful for NEW Cooperative’s generosity in financially supporting the new feed mill and grain science complex,” said Daniel J. Robison, holder of the Dean’s Endowed Chair in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State. “We cannot wait to get this state-of-the-art facility up and running, where faculty and staff will train our students, as well as industry professionals, and conduct impactful research in support of the grain and feed sector.”
NEW Cooperative, Inc. is a farmer-owned, value-added grain, agronomy, energy and feed cooperative headquartered in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Many of the company’s employees are Iowa State graduates.
“We are excited to be supporting Iowa State’s new feed technology minor and the new feed and grain facility,” said Dan Dix, general manager of NEW Cooperative. “The grain and livestock industries are vital components of Iowa’s economy. We appreciate Iowa State’s vision to be on the leading edge of grain handling and storage, animal feed manufacturing education and training. The new facility will create an educated, hands-on trained workforce ready to enter the job market.”
Ground was broken last September for the $21.2 million facility, which will be located on approximately 10 acres of university-owned land southwest of the Highway 30 and State Avenue intersection in Ames. Construction on the facility will begin later this year, with an anticipated completion date of summer 2021. Funding for the facility’s construction will be provided entirely by private donor gifts.
The feed mill and grain science complex will be home to classes and short courses related to feed technology, grain science and animal nutrition. Students from majors such as agricultural biosystems engineering, agricultural business and animal science will benefit from the facility, as well as those enrolled in the newly created feed technology minor. Grain from the facility will be used to feed animals at Iowa State’s teaching and research farms.
As a leading agriculture retailer, NEW Cooperative is focused on being an innovative and efficient provider of today’s agriculture markets and services to 5,000 members throughout 39 locations in north central and western Iowa.
The business operates six state-of-the-art feed mills providing an end use for more than 43 million bushels of corn and nearly 4 million bushels of soybeans. These crops are grown on 704,000 acres of combined corn and soybeans, equal to all the acres of corn and soybeans grown in Iowa’s Webster and Calhoun counties.