Why Illinois
Central Illinois is located at the heart
of corn and soybean production.
Our world-class bioprocessing facility is already in an ideal location for connecting to corn and soybean production. IBRL is within easy reach of some of the highest yield counties for corn and soybeans annually in the United States, with direct access to multiple commercial transportation routes.
Assets at every stage
within a 51-mile radius
Including 850k bushels of feedstock produced daily
Champaign-Urbana and Decatur are part of the
Illinois Ag Tech Corridor
The three-county iFAB region contains all of the assets needed to grow agricultural technologies. With world-class research at the University of Illinois, facilities such as the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Lab (IBRL) and the University of Illinois Research Park, as well as strong industry presence with ADM, Primient, Synonym, and Boston Bioprocess all in the iFAB region there is no better ecosystem in which to grow biomanufacturing and precision fermentation technologies.
In addition, the iFAB region has some of the highest yield counties for corn and soybeans in the United States, making supply chains, raw materials, and feedstock directly accessible. The iFAB region is home to the ADM Intermodal Ramp, a 280-acre facility located in Decatur, Illinois. It offers non-congested and toll-free access to one of the country’s heaviest truck and rail traffic flows. The ramp directly connects the Midwest to the East, West and Gulf Coasts of North America.
Our region actively cultivates AgTech across the value chain: Inputs, Harvesting, Production, Post-Harvest Storage, Commodity Trading, and Processing.
- Illinois is a leading producer of soybeans, corn and swine; #1 soybean producing state & #2 corn producing state
- Illinois is home to more than 71,000 farms, 96% of which are family-owned and a third of which include livestock
- Agriculture and related industries support 6% of Illinois jobs—that’s more than 482,000 jobs
- With 2,640 food manufacturing companies, Illinois is well-equipped to turn the state’s crops and livestock into food and industrial products
- The Chicago metropolitan area contains one of the largest concentrations of food-related businesses in the world
