Board conditionally approves Northwest Missouri biofarm project

Jefferson City Tribune | December 22 2005

A board responsible for the financing of state projects gave conditional approval Tuesday for a center at Northwest Missouri State University to grow plants genetically altered to produce medicines.

After deciding not to discuss the issue in November, the Missouri Development Finance Board unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday signaling its intent to support the project.

The resolution states the board believes plant science is important to the state's economy and would support a loan to fund the project after the Legislature passes a resolution affirming its support for the planned research center and the center gets initial approval for a federal grant.

The development would bring California-based Ventria Bioscience to Maryville to grow rice containing human genes for growing proteins to treat ailments such as diarrhea and dehydration. The president of the Maryville campus, Dean Hubbard, joined Ventria's board of directors in January.

Mike Mills, deputy director of the Department of Economic Development, told the board negotiations will continue between the state and Ventria and that the state should avoid monetary commitments until the details had been worked out.

“We want to indicate our support without putting the state on the line until the negotiations are over,” he said.

In the face of continued concern from the Legislature, the university's Board of Regents voted earlier this month to shrink the project by about half, to $12.35 million, by eliminating a proposed academic center. Now the building would house laboratories, offices and a plant that could extract 500 kilograms of protein from the rice. Ventria would also operate a 5,000-kilogram facility at another location in Maryville, which would be run by a farm cooperative and comes with an additional $6 million price tag.

The current plan calls for the university to spend $4 million, the state to put in $6 million and $2.35 million to come from the federal government.

Sen. David Klindt, R-Bethany, said the project was one of the largest economic development efforts in northwest Missouri - even in its truncated form.

“When you get started on something and start moving on it, sometimes you have to scale things back,” he said. “This will give us a place to start growing.”

Mills said the plan would put Missouri at the forefront of the biofarming industry while the locally run processing operation would help ensure a local benefit.

“We get to use venture capital from our farming community to help with the financing, and two, we give our farmers - the producers themselves - potentially a much larger share of the profit to be made,” Mills said.

An assistant to Hubbard said he would not be available for comment on the board's decision.

Ventria President Scott Deeter did not immediately return a call for comment.

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