Agriculture, Food and Bioscience

Farming, food production, and bio-research are at the core of Austin’s history, culture, and economy and will be at the center of our future.

Hormel Foods 

Austin is world headquarters to Hormel Foods Corporation, a multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer-branded food and meat products, many of which are among the best known and trusted in the food industry. 

For the past six years, Hormel Foods was named one of “The 400 Best Big Companies in America” by Forbes magazine. Hormel Foods has nearly 800 corporate and research and development employees as well as its flagship manufacturing plant in Austin. 

For more information, please visit the Hormel Foods Web site.

The Hormel Institute 

The mission of The Hormel Institute is to conduct research and provide education in the biological sciences with applications in medicine and agriculture. 

The Hormel Institute has 20 state-of-the-art research labs, more then 100 scientists and support staff, and official research collaboration agreements with the Mayo Clinic, IBM and the University of Minnesota.

The Hormel Institute is currently undertaking an expansion that will double its number of labs and researchers. The project will be complete in 2016.

For more information, please visit www.hi.umn.edu. 

Wind Power

Minnesota ranks seventh nationally for wind power, according to the American Wind Energy Association. 

Mower County is a well-known player in the wind industry.  Horizon, enXco, and Florida Power & Light all have a substantial presence in the Austin area.  There are approximately 1,660 wind turbines in operation within a 60 mile radius of Austin.