FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA, US — The Northern Crops Institute (NCI) named David Boehm, technical manager, and Dr. Casey Peterson, program development manager, as interim co-directors, to fill the role of Mark Jirik, who announced in December 2023 that he would step down after nearly six years heading the institute.

The change in leadership comes as the NCI is preparing to move into its new home at the Peltier Complex on the campus of North Dakota State University. The NCI and NDSU will begin their search for a permanent NCI director this spring.

“Both David and Casey know the organization very well and will do a great job of leading the organization until a national search can be concluded,” said Matt Swenson, vice chair of the Northern Crops Council, a member of the North Dakota Oilseed Council and member of the interim search committee.

The NCI supports regional agriculture and value-added processing by conducting educational and technical programs that expand and maintain domestic and international markets for northern-grown crops. It is funded by the states of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota and commodity groups in those states and Montana.

The NCI is scheduled to move into the Peltier Complex in May. The new three-story and 160,000- square-foot facility also will be the home of NDSU’s food science, meat science and cereal science programs, along with North Dakota Trade Office and the USDA Northern Plains Cereal Quality Labs. This is the largest academic building project in NDSU’s history. 

In the new facility, NCI will have over three times more space, along with three new labs for soy, protein and fermentation. There also will be upgrades to the pasta lab, bake lab and pilot-scale mill room. Additionally, all labs will be food-grade and recognized as safe for human consumption.

“The timing of my departure aligns very well for NCI, as well as for me both personally and professionally,” Jirik said. “This will allow NCI to have a new director in place for the next legislative session. As we move forward, it will also allow a fresh vision and strategy for the future of the Northern Crops Institute.” 

Tim Dufault, chairman of the NCI, said Jirik’s tenure was marked by growth and innovation.