Funding for New WSU Agricultural Facility Passes Full Senate

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) announced that the $3.74 million for a new Agricultural Research Service (ARS) center at Washington State University she had included in a 2010 spending bill has passed the full Senate.

The funding, which is twice as much last year’s, will support agricultural research and create approximately 150 jobs locally.

 “This new agricultural research facility will provide tremendous benefits for Washington state’s farmers, consumers, students, and overall economy,” said Senator Patty Murray.  “With this new state-of-the-art facility, our scientists will be able to do more than ever before to ensure that the highest-quality food continues to be grown right here, in Washington state. This funding strengthens our agricultural investments, creates good, family-wage jobs, and provides Washington State students with world-class educational opportunities.”

“Washington State University is very appreciative of Senator Murray’s leadership in securing funding for the Agriculture Research Service laboratory facility located in Pullman on the WSU campus,” said Washington State University President Elson Floyd. “This facility will provide much needed research space for our research partners the Agriculture Research Service.  WSU and ARS work together to provide outstanding basic and applied research that serves the agriculture industry of the Pacific Northwest.”

As the main research arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, ARS maintains about 100 facilities nationwide.  ARS-Pullman is one of the major research sites of the Northwest, and a new facility will provide much-needed lab space and technical improvements to expand research capacity for the region.

ARS scientists in Pullman research a variety of agricultural issues, ranging from crop development to animal health to environmental protection.  Currently, specific research subjects include grain and legume genetics, plant germplasm introduction and testing, animal diseases, integrated pest management, soil erosion, air and water quality, cereal crop diseases, wheat root diseases, and biological control.

The new facility will be part of a new WSU Sciences and Biotechnology complex on the Pullman campus.  Including the new ARS facility, the Sciences and Biotechnology complex will comprise seven different research facilities and laboratories.