FARGO, N.D. (AP) — The National Corn Growers Association has selected Fargo as the site for a national research center.

The St. Louis-based association considered North Dakota’s largest city and Decatur, Illinois, for the National Agricultural Genotyping Center. Fargo was picked after visits by a selection committee.

The center will start operations in October at the federal Biosciences Research Laboratory on the North Dakota State University campus.

The center is a collaboration of the corn group and the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Its main goal will be to develop on-site tests for diseases in corn and other crops and for food-borne illnesses, enhancing both food production and food safety.