The flour milling industry in North Dakota is something farmers can be proud of.

Recently, the state-owned North Dakota Mill in Grand Forks completed construction of a new $38.8 million wheat flour milling unit and flour storage facility. The new milling unit increases the facility’s milling capacity by 30%.

“This expansion will allow for an additional 7.5 million bushels of spring wheat per year to be processed here in North Dakota into top-quality flour sold across the country,” said members of the North Dakota Industrial Commission in a joint statement.

The new milling unit will increase the North Dakota Mill’s total economic impact to the region by over $150 million per year.

MILL EXPANSION: The North Dakota Mill in Grand Forks added a $38 million milling unit and wheat flour storage facility recently, making it the largest single wheat mill in the U.S.

The North Dakota Mill is now the largest single-site wheat flour mill and the seventh-largest milling company in the United States.

“The increasing demand from our current customers has driven the need for expanding our milling capacity,” says Vance Taylor, general manager of the North Dakota Mill.

The North Dakota Mill was established in 1922 and is overseen by the Industrial Commission of North Dakota. Commission directors are the governor, attorney general and agriculture commissioner.

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Dakota Specialty Milling, Fargo, is expanding capacity, too. The private company has about 110 full-time equivalent positions and mills a wide variety of grains, from wheat to amaranth, quinoa and Kamut.

Bill Matthael, Dakota Specialty Milling CEO, says snack food demand for their flour is growing. Among the hottest products: whole-grain flour, gluten-free flour and vegetable flour. Vegetable flour is made from pulse crops such as lentils and peas.