By Macy Byars
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Innovation Campus has received $37 million more in federal funds for a new partnership facility with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS).
The National Center for Resilient and Regenerative Precision Agriculture will focus on precision agriculture technology, sustainable production and climate resiliency. Architecture firm HDR said it will include a four-story lab with 120,000 total square feet and double the number of USDA-ARS scientists in Lincoln.
U.S. Sen Deb Fischer said the money for the facility is “great news” for UNL and the USDA.
“Over the years, I have worked hard to secure over $70 million in federal investments for this project,” Fischer wrote in a Wednesday statement. “I thank Secretary Brooke Rollins and Undersecretary Scott Hutchins for recognizing the importance of funding this facility. I look forward to continuing to work to get this project fully finished.”
The National Center for Resilient and Regenerative Precision Agriculture has been under construction in Lincoln since 2024. In the groundbreaking announcement, Innovation Campus leaders said the laboratory would cost $160 million total.
This $37 million will come from the closure of the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) in Maryland – just outside of the nation’s capitol.
Between Lincoln and two more new labs in Lexington, Kentucky and Ames, Iowa, the USDA is reappropriating nearly $76 million in funds from BARC.
In July 2025, USDA announced it would close BARC under an “organizational restructuring” to find cost savings within the department.
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