January 15, 2014
NBAF construction at Kansas State University one step closer with $404 million in omnibus spending bill
Submitted by Communications and Marketing
The omnibus appropriations bill written by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Appropriations includes $404 million for construction of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility at Kansas State University.
The facility will provide top-level laboratory spaces for researchers to study foreign animal diseases that threaten the food supply. Its location on the Kansas State University campus puts it at the doorstep of university experts in food safety.
"Not only is Kansas State University on its way to becoming a Top 50 public research university, but we're also proving our leadership role in global food systems," said Kirk Schulz, university president. "As the middle class rises around the globe, consumers will be looking to Kansas State and our close collaborations with federal laboratories as a trusted source to provide a safe food supply."
"NBAF will not only protect America's food supply. It also will allow the state and the university to leverage other opportunities to help Kansas prosper," said Ron Trewyn, the university's vice president for research.
Since it was announced in 2008 that Kansas State would be the site for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, other research units investing in a safe food supply have taken advantage of the proximity to Kansas State University expertise. This includes the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Arthropod-Borne Animal Disease Research Unit and its Center for Grain and Animal Health Research.
Moreover, in a span of five months in 2013 the U.S. Agency for International Development granted Kansas State University three Feed the Future innovation labs with grants totaling $27.2 million to the university.