Peltier Legacy

In 2021, the North Dakota Legislature approved funding to build what would come to be known as the Peltier Complex at NDSU, a historic agricultural research facility housing the university’s food, meat and cereal science laboratories along with the Northern Crops Institute, laboratories for the USDA-Agricultural Research Service and the North Dakota Trade Office.

The Complex, NDSU’s largest academic facility, represents the longstanding relationship between the College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources, alumnus Joe ’51 and Norma ’23 Peltier and their lineage, and their family businesses, The Arthur Companies and Proseed, dating back to when NDSU was the North Dakota Agricultural College.

After decades of giving back in the form of scholarships, facility projects and program support, and as lead benefactors in the private portion of the Peltier Complex’s funding, the Peltiers’ investments continue to prepare the next generation of the agriculture workforce, extending NDSU education and outreach to all North Dakota citizens and advancing scientific knowledge through innovative research.

From the horse and buggy to software development, yield maps and drones, Arthur Farmers Elevator, renamed The Arthur Companies in 1993 as it became more diverse, has stayed on the cutting edge of business and technology for generations, as far back as when Joe Peltier’s grandparents J.A. and Jessamine Burgum brought light to Arthur, North Dakota, by installing an electric generating plant at the elevator.

The Arthur Companies built North Dakota’s first retail bulk fertilizer business and first anhydrous plant. In the 1970s, they helped establish the sunflower industry in North Dakota, now the state with the highest sunflower acreage in the nation. Adding to these milestones, today The Arthur Companies operates three shuttle-loading stations in Ayr, Harvey and Pillsbury, North Dakota.

In the 1930s, The Arthur Companies helped farmers survive the Depression by offering credit and sharing arrangements. The Peltier family’s commitment to service and community has spanned generations since, notably in Joe and Norma Peltier’s secondary careers as community servants.

A prolific agriculture advocate and innovator, Joe was also a devoted leader in his town. He served as president of Arthur Housing Development Inc. and had terms on the school board, Cass County Park Board and the Dakota School Reorganization Committee. He was the first president of the Lions Club, serving as program director until 2009. Joe was a baseball coach and member of the American Legion and Masonic Lodge. He served in the volunteer fire department, was chairman of the cemetery board, and was instrumental in water, sewer and tennis court projects.

Joe and Norma were both scout leaders and active in their faith, inhabiting leadership positions in the Arthur United Methodist Church and the ND Conference of Methodist Churches.