USDA names Grand Farm national program manager for new AgTech proving-grounds network

Grand Farm in Casselton, North Dakota, will serve as the national program manager for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's new National Proving Grounds Network for AgTech, U.S. Sen. John Hoeven announced at an April 7 event.

Hoeven credited USDA leadership for adopting Grand Farm's local model for a national network and said Congress has secured about $11 million to support an "ag cooperative agreement" among Grand Farm, North Dakota State University and the Agricultural Research Service. "We will be the first proving grounds in the country, and Grand Farm is going to be the national program manager for the other test sites," he said.

USDA Undersecretary Scott Hutchins said the network is designed to test and validate commercial and pre-commercial agricultural technologies under real-world conditions, help farmers judge return on investment and accelerate adoption. "We want U.S. agriculture to have a fair, but clear, advantage in the world with the adoption of these technologies," Hutchins said, describing priorities such as next-generation weed management, digital scouting and on-the-fly fertilization.

Dr. Steven Mirsky, director for digital agriculture at the Agricultural Research Service, said ARS will provide scientific leadership and that the network will develop standardized testing protocols to replace a fragmented patchwork of university and industry test sites. "The USDA National Proving Grounds for AgTech is here really to close that gap," Mirsky said, adding that the program aims to publish benchmark testing and rapidly scale sites across differing farming systems.

Brian Carroll, chief operating officer at Grand Farm, said the site will act as the operational hub and project-management office, coordinating field activities, engaging technology developers and managing the platform for rapid scale-up. "We at Grand Farm are honored to serve as the national program manager for the National Proving Grounds for AgTech," Carroll said.

Officials described early funding and roles but gave few precise job estimates for local economic impact. Hoeven said the effort is intended foremost to improve profitability for individual farmers and to help startups "get to the finish line," and USDA officials said pilot programs are scheduled to begin in 2026 with expansion to additional sites thereafter.

The announcement repeated several specific funding references: Hoeven said Congress had secured about $11 million for the ag cooperative agreement, and he also referenced roughly $50 million in recent appropriations going to NDSU and ARS locally to support research. USDA officials said the Extension Service and land-grant universities will play key roles in field testing and communicating results to producers.

A pre-recorded message from USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, shown during the event, said the network will "help producers cut input costs, reduce risk, boost productivity, and access trusted data on precision ag tools and other AgTech." The secretary's message thanked Grand Farm and its local leaders for the partnership.

Officials named potatoes and other specialty crops among the markets that will be part of testing priorities in the network. They also emphasized that ARS will work with stakeholders to set priorities, develop protocols and publish results for growers.

Event organizers and speakers said the announcement marks a step from a local proving ground to a national program, but they also stressed the work ahead: developing standardized metrics, testing across diverse markets and ensuring results help farmers make investment decisions. The event closed with thanks to local students, legislators and producers and a call to remember the day Grand Farm was tapped to lead USDA's proving-grounds network.

The USDA and Grand Farm said they will begin pilots in 2026 and expand the network afterward; officials did not provide a detailed job count or a timeline for full national rollout.