Apr–Jun, 2017

For an organization like AURI, the success of its clients is paramount because it indicates whether the organization is achieving its mission and serving its intended purpose. Since the Minnesota legislature created AURI to support the state’s agriculture industry by developing new uses for crops, commodities and residue, the best way to determine success is to track the impact AURI has on its clients.

This quarter, Ag Innovation News is highlighting one of the newest individuals elected to AURI’s board of directors, Larry Johnson. He joins the organization after spending many years in various agriculture and value-added roles and AURI heartily welcomes him to the board. Read on to learn more about Director Johnson.

As new opportunities and consumer preferences continue to drive growth in the food arena, AURI understands the importance of continually taking the pulse of the industry for new insights. It accomplishes this with the help of a Food Industry Thought Leaders (FITL) team, comprised of industry experts who are dedicated to exploring market opportunities and challenges the food industry faces.

As an innovative nonprofit organization just getting itself established, AURI leaders understood the need to communicate with various audiences. AURI had begun operating autonomously in 1989 and needed to inform stakeholders about what the organization was doing, its progress and successes, as well as news items from the world of agriculture innovation.

Located in AURI’s office in Waseca, the coproduct utilization laboratory is a unique facility equipped to test, analyze and develop new products utilizing agricultural leftovers. This includes crop residue, ag-processing coproducts, biomass and many other raw materials that are of relatively low value in their initial state.

If Willy Wonka made sandwiches instead of candy, says Tom Brossart, he might have started “Food Building.” But instead it was the real-life Kieran Folliard, of Kieran’s Irish Pub fame, whose eyes began to twinkle at the idea of an artisanal sandwich factory. You don’t need a golden ticket to see with your own eyes how Red Table Meat Co. processes its pork.

Recently, a Japanese chemist named Eijiro Miyako discovered a new way to assist natural pollinators in the wild with technology. Miyako has developed a system that combines a proprietary gel with a tiny, insect-sized remote controlled drone, to pollinate plants and flowers.

In an effort to give more readers the opportunity to take part in the Ag Innovation News survey announced in the last issue of the newspaper, AURI is extending the deadline to May 31st!

In an effort to develop more value-added ideas with the potential to benefit Minnesota’s value-added agricultural businesses, entrepreneurs, agricultural processors and farmers, AURI launched a new venture this year called the Agriculture Innovation Partnership (AIP) program. It aims to further AURI’s collaborative efforts with partner organizations to develop opportunities to add value to agricultural products through practical, applied research.