Out on the prairie west of Fargo, a campus built to test farm robots and self-driving tractors is about to get a lot bigger, and that means more buildings to put up.
Grand Farm broke ground Oct. 5, 2026, on Phase II of its Innovation Campus near Casselton, according to a release from the organization. Phase II is a projected $33.7 million investment that's already underway.
What's being built
The groundbreaking starts construction on a new 8,500-square-foot field operations facility, which Grand Farm says will add capacity for campus and on-field activity. The building is funded by a $7 million North Dakota Autonomous Agriculture Grant awarded in 2025, meant to expand capacity to test and validate autonomous equipment under real field conditions.
That same state grant has already paid for other campus improvements, according to Grand Farm: a paved parking lot, a low-water gravel crossing, upgraded air conditioning and audio-visual equipment in the Innovation Shop, and a BenchBot platform, an open-source autonomous imaging system developed with the USDA Agricultural Research Service.
"By generating the AI-ready data that new tools depend on, we will speed up how quickly those technologies reach growers," said Dr. Steven Mirsky, USDA digital director for agriculture with the Agricultural Research Service, who said the BenchBot will serve as a core resource for the region and spur innovation among USDA-ARS, North Dakota State University and their partners.
On the same day, U.S. Sen. John Hoeven announced a $5 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, supported by a $1.25 million match from the state's Autonomous Agriculture Grant, to build a year-round indoor testing and demonstration facility at Grand Farm. Grand Farm calls it the Indoor AgTech Test Track.
"The Indoor Test Track will be a central piece of Grand Farm's cold-weather testing and demonstration work, giving their partner companies the support needed to prove these technologies can operate in severe, real-world conditions," Hoeven said. "On top of that, they are building a new Field Operations Facility, have nearly quadrupled their acreage and have even more ambitious plans in the works."
Grand Farm has acquired 450 more acres, bringing the campus to 590 acres, and has signed AGCO's Precision Technology Institute – North Dakota as its first anchor tenant, according to the release.
More could follow. Grand Farm says it is also proposing a Center for Electromagnetic Resilience and Autonomous Systems and will keep investing in campus development and infrastructure.
Phase II builds on a first phase that's already paying off, according to Grand Farm. Phase I of the Innovation Campus launched in 2022 with a $10 million matching grant from the State of North Dakota and $5.3 million in private investment. It paid for 140 acres and construction of the Innovation Shop, which opened in June 2024. Since then, Grand Farm says the shop has hosted more than 300 events and tours and welcomed 15,000 visitors, while the acreage has supported 83 field trials and 24 startup plots.
U.S. Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, attended the groundbreaking as Hoeven's guest.
"Today, activity across the Innovation Campus continues to accelerate. Partners are asking for deeper engagement, longer-term research opportunities, and new capabilities that allow them to test, validate, and collaborate year-round," said Grand Farm co-founder Greg Tehven. "Our focus now is turning this trusted foundation into new investment and opportunities for the companies and innovators who choose North Dakota."
Grand Farm is powered by Emerging Prairie, and the campus sits at 3717 153rd Ave. SE near Wheatland, according to the organization.
Why it matters for Contractors
A projected $33.7 million in campus work is a real opportunity for contractors in the Fargo-Casselton area. The 8,500-square-foot field operations facility is under construction now, and the $5 million federal grant for the Indoor AgTech Test Track points to another building on the way: a year-round indoor testing and demonstration facility. Add a possible Center for Electromagnetic Resilience and Autonomous Systems, 450 newly acquired acres and an anchor tenant in AGCO's Precision Technology Institute, and the campus plans point to site work, utilities, roads, buildings, concrete, electrical and mechanical systems as Phase II moves forward. Grand Farm hasn't named a builder for Phase II, so contractors interested in the work should reach out to Grand Farm. Because the test track is funded with a federal EDA grant, firms should ask early about any federal requirements that come with that money.