JBS partners with CSU on new food-innovation center

Greeley-based food processor JBS USA is partnering with Colorado State University to construct the JBS Global Food Innovation Center in honor of Gary & Kay Smith. The $15 million project is intended to advance best practices in food safety, meat sciences, and animal handling and welfare. JBS USA will contribute $12.5 million for the project — a $7.5 million philanthropic contribution to build the center at the university and an investment in employee educational programs valued at $5 million. The College of Agricultural Sciences is in the process of selecting an architect and general contractor, and construction could start as soon as this summer. Professor emeritus Gary Smith, along with his late wife, Kay, are honored in the naming of the building. Gary Smith held one of CSU’s oldest endowed chairs, the Monfort Chair, and spent more than 20 years as a professor in CSU’s Department of Animal Sciences.