WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced today the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded a combined $958,839 to Dakota College at Bottineau and Bismarck State College.

  • Dakota College at Bottineau received a $500,000 grant to fund a project providing education and training to students to grow and process industrial hemp for commercial purposes. 
  • Bismarck State College received a $458,839 grant to fund a project that will develop a Certificate of Completion program which will train students in areas related to custom application of crop protection products.

These investments were made through NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), which is a competitive grant program that provides research, education, and extension grants to improve rural economies, increase food production, and train the next generation of agricultural workforce.