ND Agriculture Commissioner outlines UAS weed‑detection pilot, irrigation potential and ethanol grants
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Summary
Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goring briefed the interim Agriculture and Water Management Committee on a $300,000 UAS grant to build an optical library for noxious‑weed detection, estimates that roughly 302,000 acres are irrigated with potential for millions more, and three ethanol plants awarded low‑carbon fuels grants.
Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goring told the Agriculture and Water Management Committee that the department awarded a $300,000 grant to establish uncrewed aerial system test sites aimed at expanding an image library and validating AI detection models for Palmer amaranth, waterhemp and related species. Grand Farm is the lead on the project, with partners including North Dakota State University and private contractors; field work is underway in several counties and the grant runs through June 30, 2027.
Goring said about 302,000 acres in North Dakota are currently irrigated — about 1.1 percent of the state’s cultivated land — and that, where conditions are right, “there could potentially be another 2,000,000 more acres added” with appropriately located and managed irrigation systems. He noted soil types, water availability and infrastructure as limiting factors and told lawmakers a final irrigation study report was expected for committee review later in the year.
On fuels, Goring summarized awards from the Low Carbon Fuels Program intended to reduce carbon intensity at ethanol plants: Dakota Spirit Energy near Spiritwood and Gevo near Richardson were each awarded $3 million; the Hankinson Renewable Energy plant received $1.5 million. The grants reimburse eligible costs for process equipment and carbon‑capture or efficiency upgrades; the grant period for the awards closes July 30, 2027.
Committee members asked about technical details, including whether specific facilities will connect to CO2 pipelines and the source of program funding. Goring said the fund is a revolving account historically connected to ethanol‑related programs and fee revenue but did not provide a definitive line‑item source during the briefing and said he would follow up with the committee.
Why it matters: the investments and pilots described by the Agriculture Department aim to combine new monitoring technology, expanded irrigation and value‑added biofuel production to bolster farm productivity and local processing. Lawmakers pressed officials about infrastructure needs — particularly natural‑gas pipeline capacity in eastern North Dakota — and storage and supply questions for fertilizer feedstocks that will affect whether in‑state processing grows.
The committee did not take formal action on any bill during this presentation; lawmakers asked the department to provide follow‑up details on grant funding sources and technology partners.
