First in the Nation

Larry Johnson, director of the BioCentury Research Farm at Iowa State University, speaks at dedication ceremonies for the facility.

Iowa State University’s goal of becoming the best university in the research and development of biorenewable resources received a boost last month with the dedication of the new BioCentury Research Farm.

And that effort was enhanced through Campaign Iowa State: With Pride and Purpose, the university’s $800 million fundraising effort.

“We’re starting something very big here with the BioCentury Research Farm,” said Iowa State President Gregory L. Geoffroy. “It’s something big for Iowa State University, the state of Iowa, our nation, and our world.”

The BioCentury Research Farm is the first-in-the-nation integrated research and demonstration facility dedicated to biomass production and processing. The facility will accelerate innovation and production capacity associated with biobased fuels, chemicals and products.

Collaborations between industry partners and Iowa State researchers will develop sustainable technologies to provide solutions to will pave the way in meeting national energy, economic and environmental directives.

“The foundation of the bioeconomy is what is grown in the ground, and Iowa is the best place in the world for growing things,” Geoffroy said. “But in order for Iowa to become a world leader in the bioeconomy, we must also be the best at reaping the benefits of what is produced. And that is what we intend to do here at the BioCentury Research Farm.”

Iowa State faculty and students will use the facility, which is located just west of Ames on Highway 30, to study biomass feedstock production; harvesting, storing and transporting of feedstocks; changes in land use arising from harvesting corn stover and other plants; new ways to process a variety of feedstocks into bioproducts; and the socioeconomic impacts on Iowa agriculture.

The BioCentury Research Farm is also designed for collaboration, not only between faculty and students from various colleges and departments, but in a partnership with people from leading agricultural and fuel and chemical industries.

“We plan to use the facility to develop new cropping methods, processes and products that will generate new profits for Iowa farms and agribusiness,” said Larry Johnson, professor of food science and human nutrition and director of the BioCentury Research Farm.

In addition to funding from the State of Iowa, lead gifts for equipment and the construction of the BioCentury Research Farm were provided by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., a DuPont business, and Rockwell Automation.

Back to top.