Tri-City leaders are pushing forward with a bold vision for a multimillion-dollar agricultural-focused facility that could include a business incubator, wet and dry laboratories, meeting space and a test kitchen.

A state-of-the-art Agricultural Innovation Center could cost between $15 million to $30 million, according to a recently commissioned feasibility study.

“This is so big that it’s going to take a lot of people to bring it together but that’s what we were going for,” Lori Mattson, the Tri-City Regional Chamber’s executive director, told the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

The project is still in the early planning stages but the hope is such a center will bring together researchers, farmers and industry leaders to shape the future of agriculture and create “a modern hub for agricultural technology and innovative practices,” the study said.

The feasibility study by The Vine Institute recommends building or refurbishing a 50,000-square-foot facility and focusing efforts on precision agriculture, ag robotics and automation, food processing, energy efficiency and bioenergy, among other projects.

The study identified nine potential locations for the center on property in Richland, Pasco and Prosser:

• Tri-Cities Research District: Port of Benton Technology and Business Campus in Richland.
• Washington State University Tri-Cities in Richland.
• Columbia Basin College and/or Airport Business Center in Pasco.
• Big Pasco Industrial Center in southeast Pasco.
• Oregon Avenue agricultural commercial corridor in Pasco.
• Reimann Industrial Center near the Darigold facility north of Pasco.
• Foster Wells Business Cetner in the Pasco Processing Center.
• Broadmoor development in west Pasco near the Interstate 182 bridge.
• Walter Clore Wine & Culinary Center in Prosser.

The center would need to be properly outfitted to meet the variety of needs of researchers, entrepreneurs and educators, which are estimated to cost about $15.1 million, according to the study.

“It is this collaborative synergy of various programs from wet labs to incubator space to meeting space that will make the Agricultural Innovation Center uniquely attractive to emerging companies and technologies of the future,” the study’s authors wrote.

Officials at the Port of Pasco noted at a recent meeting that there are facilities in the region that already do some of the work suggested in the study, including the Viticulture & Enology Center at Washington State University Tri-Cities and WSU’s research station near Prosser.

“This is to fill the holes,” said Randy Hayden, the port’s executive director, of the Ag Innovation Center.

Hayden said another two years of organization are likely needed to finish collaborating with potential partners and hire someone to begin fundraising before any more concrete steps can be taken. However, he and the port’s commissioners voiced support for the effort and how it could be a game changer for the ag industry.

“I think if we have that space, we’ll easily have entrepreneurs and agricultural research folks use that space,” Hayden said.

Prime location

The Vine Institute, a California nonprofit, said in its 86-page report that Benton and Franklin counties are a prime place to nurture innovation in agriculture.

Combined, their crops and livestock generated $1 billion in sales in 2022 and cover a range of products, from tree fruit and vineyards to dairy operations and row crops. Food processing companies already have a strong presence in the region and institutions such as Washington State University Tri-Cities and Columbia Basin College support workforce development and research.

Next steps

Beyond identifying the cost of refurbishing or building the Ag Innovation Center, The Vine Institute estimates it will cost $1.9 million to $2.2 million a year to operate.

It suggested potential initial funding sources, including programs of the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Agriculture, the Hanford Area Economic Investment Fund or even philanthropic organizations such as the Gates Foundation.

The study identified possible corporate sponsors including Lamb Weston, Tyson, Costco, ConAgra and AgriNorthwest.

The center also will need a governance structure, with an entity such as a university, government agency or nonprofit managing operations.

Planting the seed

The idea of the innovation center grew out of the MyTri2030 visioning initiative started by the regional chamber in 2016. That effort focused on six opportunity areas: agriculture, education, energy, inclusion, life and prosperity.

Mattson said different groups formed to work on how to move the Tri-Cities forward in those specific realms. But the arrival of Covid-19 in early 2020 ground much of those efforts to a halt due to pandemic restrictions and concerns.

However, the Tri-Cities Agricultural Council, the team that coalesced around agriculture interests, kept plugging along. That group identified a need for resources to support the region’s agricultural industry when it came to technology and other advancements.

The study was conducted on behalf of the Port of Pasco, Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce and Tri-Cities Agricultural Council.

State Rep. Stephanie Barnard, R-Kennewick, and the regional chamber’s former head of government affairs, helped secure $200,000 in state funding in 2023 to pay for the feasibility study for the project. She said she's excited at the report's findings and what it can mean for the Tri-Cities' future.

“I think it does help provide the key insights to get the project moving," Barnard told the Journal. “I hope the next steps are to start a capital campaign."