AURI innovates in ag commodities

AURI is a player in the innovation of ag commodities

By Brian Hansel Innovation

Harold Stanislawski is part of an effort to find in novative uses for agricultural commodities.

Working for the Agri c u l t u r a l Utilization R e s e a r c h I n s t i t u t e ( A U R I ) , Stani - slawski is associat ed with Stanislawski p e o p l e working outside the box to create long-term, val ue-added agricultural products.

The premise for the in stitute’s work is that there are more uses for agricul tural products than people presently realize.

One local example of the value-added product is the Green Plains fuel production facility west of Fergus Falls. The facility produces ethanol fuel, a renewable energy source, from field corn. The farm er who sells his raw corn at a farmer-owned ethanol processing plant receives the market price plus the additional dividends from the sale of ethanol.

AURI’s work is not exclusive to any one area of agriculture but if there is a protein in the equation AURI is on board.

“It’s both crops and livestock,” Stanislawski

ZACH STICH | INNOVATION FROM COB TO CAR: A cornfield near Erhard. Harold Stanislawski and Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI) look to create longterm, value-added agricultural products such as using corn for ethanol fuel.

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said. “We work in renewable energy, food, bio-based products and co-products.”

Acting on the knowledge that today’s consumers are health-conscious and de mand foods both wholesome and convenient, one of the innovations that AURI food scientists are working on is eliminating gluten sensitivity.

Gluten is a substance present in cereal grains responsible for the elas tic texture of dough. It is a mixture of two proteins that cause illness in people with celiac disease, a se rious health problem that damages the small intes tine and affects an estimated 1 in 100 people worldwide.

“We are doing it so people who are gluten sensitive can eat bread again,” Stanislawski said.

A butter made of chick pea, not peanuts is being developed that can be spread on that bread — good news for people who suffer from a peanut allergy, a condition that can be life-threatening.

Snack foods, cereals and ice-cream products are also being researched according to Stanislawski.

Bio-based products allow businesses to replace petroleum-based ingredi ents.

“An example is the soybased sealants that are applied on the highway to prevent oxygenating and cracking,” Stanislawski said.

Co-products come from agricultural processing and include residues like beet pulp and pota to peelings. Out of these co-products might come kitty litter or road deicer.

AURI maintains a variety of labs in Crookston, Marshall and Waseca to carry out their testing work. The corporation is funded in part by the body which created it - the Minnesota Legislature - but it also works with in dividual entrepreneurs, businesses, cooperatives, commodity groups and farm organizations.

While set up by the state legislature the nonprofit charges project fees for services on a sliding scale, determined by a compa ny’s annual revenue.

“The entrepreneurial spirit in Minnesota is not dead,” Stanislawski de clared. “There are many, many people who are working on products that are going to change peo ple’s lives.”

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