WSU hosted several staff members from the Senate Appropriations agriculture sub-committee on Monday on the Pullman campus. Leadership from WSU, Office of Research, CAHNRS, Vet Med and VCEA, along with numerous faculty and researchers highlighted their current research priorities, the need for continued investment in infrastructure, ongoing partnerships, workforce development, and the next generation of agriculture.
Their visit started with a welcome from Provost Chris Riley-Tillman and Interim Pullman Chancellor Dave Cillay. The group then learned more about WSU’s research priorities from the Office of Research’s Kim Christen and how the state of Washington funds higher education from EAGR’s State Relations Director Chris Mulick.
Vet Med Dean Dori Borjesson and interim VCEA Dean Partha Pande both talked about how their colleges are integral parts of WSU’s successful agricultural research enterprise. CAHNRS Sr. Associate Dean Scot Hulbert and Associate Dean Leslie Edgars discussed the importance of maintaining federal funding for ag research and the impact WSU’s research and relationships have in the state.
The first tour began with members of our College of Veterinary Medicine– Kevin Snekvik, Thomas Waltzek, Michael Phelps, and Jon Oatley, to discuss advancements from the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WADDL) and the importance of our aquaculture program that indicates the health, safety, and future impacts on salmon in Washington. Next, they visited our cattle facility to show off Dr. Oatley’s gene-editing tool CRISPR to improve genetic traits in livestock.
The group also got to hear from Ananth Kalyanaraman, the Director of USDA NIFA-funded AgAID Institute. Kalyanaraman discussed the importance of AI in the future of family farms, ranches and commercial farming, predictive modeling ranging from the amount of potential moisture on cherries, and how to protect your data from cyber security threats.
AgAID is developing AI tools and approaches that support real-time site-specific decision making at the farm scale. These decision frameworks will allow farmers to more effectively harness data collected from the farm for tackling uncertainties introduced by extreme weather and changing resource availability.
No visit to Pullman is complete without visiting Ferdinand’s Ice Cream Shoppe! Staffers got a tour of the facility along with an in-depth history of the Creamery. From the 1940’s where WSU ceased working with contractors to make cheese to begin their own operations to today where the Creamery produces 250,000 cans of cheese each year, 80% of which is Cougar Gold.
Later, the group visited the current construction of the ARS Plant Sciences building on campus next to the life science buildings across the street from Martin Stadium. Ground was broken in August of 2023 to embark on the building of the future where students, faculty, and researchers can look ahead to solve the problems facing farmers in Washington and far beyond.
WSU’s partnership with the USDA dates to 1931 and represents one the agency’s most vigorous partnerships. The University’s departments of Plant Pathology, Crop and Soil sciences, and Horticulture will inhabit the new building alongside federal scientists and four ARS research units: Wheat Health, Genetics and Quality; Grain Legume Genetics and Physiology; Northwest Sustainable Agroecosystems; and Plant Germplasm Introduction and Testing.
Senior Associate Dean Hulbert led the next stop for our staff members’ visit. The Plant Growth Facilities greenhouses and growth chambers serve CAHRNS and affiliated USDA programs as the primary controlled environment space for research and teaching projects. The Plant Growth facilities are comprised of over 49,000 sq. feet of greenhouse space and 65 climate-controlled growth chambers.
Lastly, the group visited the Bear Research, Education, and Conservation Center. Staff at the center showcased the only grizzly bear research center of its kind in the United States. Federal and state biologists responsible for understanding and managing wild grizzly bears occasionally wanted to use captive bears in their studies. Because few zoos have the resources or enough bears to obtain meaningful data, the WSU Bear Center was established.