June 17, 2013
Ground broken on new Kansas Department of Agriculture building adjacent to Kansas State University
Submitted by Communications and Marketing
A groundbreaking ceremony Friday, June 14, marked the beginning of the Kansas Department of Agriculture's close relationship with Kansas State University and the other entities that make Manhattan a center for Kansas agriculture.
Officials at the ceremony included Kirk Schulz, university president; Dale Rodman, state secretary of agriculture; Jerry McReynolds, Kansas State Board of Agriculture chair; and Fred Cholick, president and CEO of the Kansas State University Foundation. The foundation is constructing the three-story, 50,000-square-foot facility and leasing it to the Kansas Department of Agriculture for a 20-year period.
The new facility will be immediately adjacent to the Kansas State University Institute of Commercialization and the now underway National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, enabling access to university expertise and research. Close proximity is also provided to the College of Agriculture, Kansas State Research and Extension, the College of Veterinary Medicine, the university's international grain science complex and U.S. Department of Agriculture facilities.
University and department leaders envision the location boosting collaboration on research, agricultural issues affecting the state, and joint outreach to the Kansas agricultural community -- in turn, strengthening the state as a leader in agriculture, research and bioscience.