How inputs, research, talent, infrastructure and market access come together across one region.
For agriculture companies, a location decision is rarely about a single site. It is about whether the surrounding environment can provide the inputs, people, infrastructure and connections required to move an operation forward.
AgWorks Corridor brings all the pieces together across one connected region. Here is what business leaders and site selectors need to know.
What is the AgWorks Corridor?
AgWorks Corridor is an 11-county business ecosystem spanning the greater Lincoln-Omaha region in Nebraska and Iowa.
The corridor sits within one of the world’s most productive agricultural regions. Within it, feedstocks, research, specialized talent, production infrastructure, suppliers and distribution networks connect across the agricultural value chain.
That combination supports companies at different points in their growth: founders working to commercialize an idea, established businesses planning an expansion and global companies looking for a location that can support complex operations over the long term.
Proof in Practice
Wholestone Prestage: Connecting producers, processing and distribution
Wholestone Prestage’s Fremont operation shows how producer access can connect with processing and market reach. The pork processor is owned by 235 family farmers and has expanded its regional capabilities through investments in cold storage, distribution and production. The result is a more integrated path from producer relationships to finished-product movement.
Bluestem Biosciences: Building a path toward biomanufacturing
Bluestem Biosciences demonstrates how traditional agricultural strengths can support an emerging industry. The company is developing renewable chemicals from corn while drawing on regional ethanol infrastructure, fermentation expertise, rail access, power, water and commercialization support. Its experience shows how feedstocks and industrial knowledge can help a biotechnology company work toward demonstration scale.
Where Does the Corridor Create Value?
AgWorks Corridor is focused on five areas of value-added agriculture:
- Animal health: Manufacturing, research, specialized talent and distribution capabilities that support products serving livestock and companion-animal markets.
- Agricultural technology: Applied research, entrepreneurship and industry expertise that help move new tools and technologies toward real-world use.
- Industrial biotechnology: Access to agricultural feedstocks, fermentation knowledge, utilities and production experience that can support the path from lab to commercial scale.
- Agricultural equipment: A manufacturing base, skilled workforce and proximity to producers who understand how equipment performs in practice.
- Food processing: Ready access to agricultural inputs, production talent, infrastructure and national distribution routes.
These are not isolated industry clusters. They draw on many of the same regional strengths, creating opportunities for suppliers, researchers, producers and companies to work across sectors.
Why do companies consider AgWorks Corridor?
Proximity to inputs and suppliers
Nebraska and Iowa offer direct access to productive farmland, livestock and crops. For food processors, bio-based manufacturers and other resource-dependent operations, that proximity can shorten supply chains and strengthen relationships with producers. Forty percent of industry purchases are satisfied locally, indicating a supplier network with meaningful regional depth.
A specialized business and workforce base
More than 700 companies operate across the corridor’s agricultural value chain, employing more than 37,000 workers. The regional industry is 66% more concentrated than the national average, and more than 50,000 workers participate in the broader AgWorks ecosystem. For a company evaluating the region, those numbers signal more than size. They point to workers, suppliers and business partners with experience in agriculture, manufacturing, food production, biosciences and related operations.
Research connected to commercialization
Universities, colleges, technology-transfer organizations and industry-aligned programs contribute research, technical expertise and talent. This network can help companies develop intellectual property, connect with partners and capital, test applications and build teams with relevant skills. The advantage is practical: research capacity is paired with an operating environment that understands production and scale.
Infrastructure for production and market access
The corridor’s central U.S. location and multimodal connections support movement to customers across the country and beyond. Nebraska’s public-power model, Iowa’s competitive electric utility environment and the region’s water resources can also support businesses with significant production requirements. Sites, utilities and transportation still need to be evaluated for the needs of each project. But across the corridor, companies can investigate multiple options within a connected agricultural business environment.
Regional coordination
AgWorks Corridor is designed to give companies a broader view of the region. Rather than approaching Lincoln, Omaha and surrounding counties as separate markets, the initiative connects their complementary assets and gives site selectors and executives a more complete picture of what is available.