Northern Crops Institute

Name

Northern Crops Institute

Legal name

Northern Crops Institute

Website

https://northern-crops.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Education and Technical Services

NAICS

Soil Preparation, Planting, and Cultivating (115112)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Crop, Soil & Agronomy Technician Training (EDAOAOAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Grain Quality Testing (Moisture, Protein, Oil, Test Weight) (AFAOAMAB), Falling Number, Milling/Baking & End-Use Functionality Testing (AFAOAMAE), Rapid On-Site Testing Services (Portable/NIR Screening) (AFAOAMAH), Nutrient Management Planning & Fertility Programs (AFACABAB)

Keywords

• Agricultural education
• Grain processing training
• Technical consulting services
• Pilot-scale processing
• Commodity market development

Headquarters

HQ city

Fargo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Educational Courses and Training: Revenue generated from hosting educational courses, workshops, and training programs for international and domestic participants in agricultural commodity procurement, processing, and trade.
2. Facility and Space Rentals: Rental income from reservable meeting spaces including auditorium, board room, breakout room, conference room, and dining room at the Peltier Complex.
3. Course Sponsorships: Full course sponsorship, banquet sponsorship ($2,500), lunch sponsorship ($1,000), and transportation sponsorship options provide revenue while connecting sponsors with course participants.
4. Webinar Sponsorships: Annual webinar sponsorship at $5,000 includes logo placement in pre-webinar slides, webinar page, marketing emails, and opportunity to speak.
5. General Sponsorships and Foundation Support: Various sponsorship levels and foundation/donation support for NCI operations and mission.
6. Technical Services: Fee-based technical services including laboratory analyses, pilot-scale processing, product development, and consulting for industry clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Northern Crops Institute delivers education and technical services for northern-grown U.S. crops (wheat, soy, corn, barley). Core offerings include in-person and online training courses on grain procurement, processing, and trade; pilot-scale product development and processing across multiple specialized laboratories; analytical and sensory testing; consulting; and facility rentals from its Fargo, ND campus at NDSU.

Product overview

Northern Crops Institute (NCI) is an agricultural education and training center that operates as a unified service offering combining educational courses, technical laboratory services, and facility access. The core portfolio includes in-person short courses (INTSOY soybean courses, pasta production, stone milling, feed manufacturing, grain procurement), technical testing and pilot-scale processing services across multiple specialized laboratories (pasta, soy foods, extrusion, baking, rheology, analytical, oilseed, stone milling, sensory), and webinar/educational content series. Additional offerings include on-demand courses, handbooks, facility reservations, and sponsorship programs. NCI serves international and domestic agricultural professionals through its facilities on the North Dakota State University campus.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Educational Courses and Short Courses In-person educational courses combining lectures, demonstrations, field visits, and plant tours covering soybean processing (INTSOY), pasta production, stone milling, feed manufacturing, grain procurement, ethanol production, and food soy procurement for international and domestic agricultural professionals.
• Technical Services Fee-based laboratory testing, pilot-scale processing, product development, and consulting for grains, oilseeds, pulses, and processed food products, including analytical testing, rheology analysis, and sensory testing.
• Laboratory Facilities and Pilot-Scale Processing Specialized technical laboratories including Pasta Processing Lab, Soy Foods Lab, Extrusion Lab, Baking Lab, Rheology Lab, Analytical Lab, Oilseed Processing Lab, Stone Mill Room, Sensory Kitchen, and Feed Production Center available for fee-based pilot-scale product development and testing.
• On-Demand Courses Recorded online courses available for self-paced learning, covering agricultural commodity topics and technical training.
• Facility Space Reservations Rental of meeting space at the Peltier Complex including auditorium (seats 60), board room (seats 14), break-out room (capacity 40), conference room (seats 10), and dining room on a half-day or full-day basis.
• Course and Event Sponsorship Programs Sponsorship opportunities including Full Course Sponsorship, Banquet Sponsorship ($2,500), Lunch Sponsorship ($1,000), and Transportation Sponsorship for NCI courses and events.
• Annual Webinar Sponsorship Annual webinar sponsorship at $5,000/year, including logo placement in pre-webinar slides, webinar page, marketing emails, and an opportunity to speak; valid for one full year from purchase date across the NCI Market Update, Pulse Potential, Cereal Innovators, and Future of Feeding webinar series.
• Handbooks and Educational Materials Published educational resources such as the Ancient Grains of the Great Plains handbook and other technical guides covering northern-grown crops and processing.

Quantifiable outcome

• Trained participants from over 100 countries since inception
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• North Dakota State University (NDSU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCI is situated on the campus of NDSU in Fargo, ND. The partnership provides NCI access to university research facilities, faculty expertise, and student talent. NCI operates within the Peltier Complex on NDSU campus.
• American Soybean Association (ASA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint programming for U.S. Soy and Essential Amino Acids courses. ASA collaborates with NCI on training programs related to soybean utilization.
• WISHH (World Initiative for Soy in Human Health)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with NCI on programming to promote U.S. soy in human health applications globally.
• North Dakota Soybean Council (NDSC)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsors NCI courses and programs. Provides funding support for soybean-focused training and market development activities.
• U.S. Wheat AssociatescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners on wheat procurement and contracting courses. Supports NCI programming for international wheat buyers.
• North Dakota Wheat CommissioncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsors NCI courses and provides expertise on wheat market development for the four-state region.
• Minnesota Wheat Research & Promotion CouncilminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsors grain procurement and wheat courses at NCI.
• South Dakota Wheat CommissionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSupports NCI programming for wheat market development.
• Montana Wheat & BarleyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSupports NCI programming for wheat market development.
• North Dakota Grain Growers AssociationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsors NCI grain procurement training programs.
• Northern Pulse Growers AssociationcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsors NCI's Pulse Potential webinar series focused on pulse production and utilization.
• North Dakota Department of AgriculturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates on trade missions and agricultural market development initiatives.
• North Dakota Trade OfficecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganizes trade missions and connects NCI with international market opportunities.
• Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota (Four-State Region)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative effort among four states to support promotion and market development of crops grown in the region.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Wheat Marketing Center: Wheat Marketing Center provides technical training, product development, and end-use quality testing for wheat, with strong focus on U.S. wheat export market development — directly overlapping NCI's wheat-focused courses and baking/analytical lab capabilities.
• Food Innovation Center (Oregon State University): Oregon State's Food Innovation Center offers pilot-scale processing, sensory testing, and product development services for food entrepreneurs and processors — directly comparable to NCI's pilot laboratories and technical services business model.
• Rutgers Food Innovation Center: Rutgers Food Innovation Center provides pilot processing, product development, sensory evaluation, and food business incubation services — overlapping with NCI's laboratory facilities, sensory testing, and technical service revenue streams.
• Food Protein Research and Development Center (Texas A&M): Texas A&M's Food Protein R&D Center conducts pilot-scale protein processing research, product development, and industry training — closely aligned with NCI's Oilseed Processing Laboratory and soy foods lab capabilities in protein extraction and utilization.
• IGP Institute (Kansas State University): The IGP Institute at Kansas State University provides international grain and feed procurement/processing education, technical services, and pilot-scale flour milling and feed manufacturing training — directly comparable to NCI's core offering across a similar university-based model.
• Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi): Cigi delivers international grain procurement, quality testing, and end-use application training to global buyers — virtually identical service model to NCI's grain procurement courses and analytical testing, with similar international participant base.

Broad incumbents

• US Grains Council: US Grains Council is an international market development organization for U.S. grains that conducts training and trade missions — overlapping NCI's international grain buyer education mission but operating as a broader industry body without NCI's laboratory infrastructure.
• American Soybean Association / World Initiative for Soy in Human Health: ASA and WISHH are core NCI partners that conduct soybean market development and training internationally — they share NCI's soy-focused international education mission but operate as industry associations rather than laboratory-equipped training centers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NCI_NDSU
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@northerncropsinstitute
• Facebookfacebook.com/NorthernCropsInstitute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/northern-crops-institute
• Instagraminstagram.com/northerncropsinstitute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Northern Crops Institute