This past January, MSU-Bottineau in northern North Dakota opened its Entrepreneurial Center of Horticulture.  Now, according to an article in the Minot Daily News, an advisory board has come together to help market locally grown crops.  

It’s common sense, in light of the recent tomato-samonella scare and rising transportation costs for people to get their produce from as close to home as possible.  It’s also common sense for North Dakota to emphasize its non-commodity crops through outlets like the Agraria restaurants in Washington, D.C. 

While energy production from oil, wind and biofuels are increasing, agriculture is still the state’s top industry.  Value-added agriculture is being emphasized.  Perhaps marketing locally-grown vegetables, fruits and flowers is another branch of emphasis that could pay off for North Dakota farmers.