WSU saving federal money to build new lab for wheat studies

By MATTHEW WEAVER

Capital Press

More funding has been obtained for a research building at Washington State University, but groundbreaking is still a long way in the future.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., secured $3.74 million this year for a building to house USDA Agricultural Research Service and WSU researchers. The funding was included in the final 2010 agriculture appropriations bill signed into law by President Barack Obama on Oct. 21.

The facility, which will be built on WSU's Pullman, Wash., campus, would be part of a new science and technology complex, which includes the Vogel Plant Bioscience Building and the recently completed biotechnology and life sciences building.

Kristi Growdon, WSU director of federal relations, said the facility would put the collaborating scientists in a state-of-the-art building.

"The relationship WSU has with ARS is exceptional," she said.

Many of the federal scientists that would be housed in the new building would work on wheat diseases and genetics, said Ralph Cavalieri, director of the university's Agricultural Research Center. Others would be part of a plant introduction group, which consists of federal scientists who collect, characterize and preserve plants.

WSU and Murray have requested federal funding to house the ARS scientists, Cavalieri said. WSU's Johnson Hall, where most scientists are currently housed, cannot be modified to meet modern requirements.

The federal government will not authorize construction to begin until enough money is appropriated, Cavalieri said.

She estimated $12 million to $15 million has already been banked for the facility. The total cost of it is $45 million to $50 million.

There is presently no timeline for the building to begin construction.

"I believe the agriculture community understands that through research and advancement, we're going to be able to help the industry grow and deal with all these obstacles that may confront us in the future," she said.