NCI Celebrates Its 40th Anniversary

The Northern Crops Institute celebrated their 40th anniversary with an event held on Thursday, November 18th. The event was held at the Fargo Air Museum and showcased NCI’s history through historical artifacts, slideshows, and speeches. Historical artifacts included; course binders, original building blueprints, the original groundbreaking shovel, photos, and more. A short program was also held to commemorate the anniversary and featured speeches from Dean Bresciani, President of NDSU; Keith Peltier, Former NCC Chair; Representative Michael Howe, Grandson of George Howe; and Senator Mark Weber, Former NCI Director.

Mark Jirik, director of NCI, reflected on the beginning of NCI’s history during his speech. 

NCI’s historical artifacts

“40 years ago, our agricultural and elected leaders had a vision to change the game when it comes to marketing the crops of this region.”

In total, approximately 150 people attended the 40th event including past directors, staff, and Northern Crops Council members, legislators, advisory board members, commodity groups, ag commissioners, clients, collaborators from NDSU, and family and friends.

The Northern Crops Institute celebrates its anniversary this year because 40 years ago is when the North Dakota Senate Bill 2372 was authorized to establish the NCI. House Bill 1341 provided $1.5 million for construction and equipment, and the official groundbreaking for the building was held on December 16th, 1981. The Northern Crops Institute’s building was completed in 1983.

Keith Peltier during his speech at the 40th Anniversary

Keith Peltier praised NCI for their continued growth and effort towards their mission during his speech.

“NCI is a wonderful institution. They do a great job of promoting the value of the region’s products and the region’s agriculture. Promotion is about people, and NCI has always had great people. The longevity of their staff speaks to their mission and the consistent message they have been able to deliver.”

The Northern Crops Institute decided to hold their anniversary celebration on November 18th in concurrent with the groundbreaking for the new Peltier Complex that was held the next day on November 19th. NCI will be part of the new building and celebrated the official groundbreaking and naming ceremony held at NDSU.

Watch below a short video from the night of the 40th event.