A newly renovated research facility dedicated
today will help ARS continue to improve wheat and other grain crops. Click
the image for more information about it.
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Newly Renovated ARS Grain Research Center
Dedicated
By Sharon
Durham
February 22, 2008 MANHATTAN, Kan., February 22,
2008Research on cereal grains will soon be enhanced, thanks to major
renovations nearing completion at a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) research facility here. Originally
dedicated in 1970, the Grain Marketing and Production Research Center (GMPRC)
is being modernized as part of a 10-year project. The center is operated by the
Agricultural Research Service (ARS),
USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency.
Set on a 12-acre tract of land deeded to USDA by the state of Kansas, the
center comprises a 60,000-square-foot combined laboratory and office building,
a pilot plant and a 150-foot grain elevator. The GMPRC works collaboratively
with several partners, including Kansas State
University, also in Manhattan.
Todays dedication celebrated the 10-year, four-phase, $14.8-million
renovation needed to make the aging structure state-of-the-art once again. It
provides the main building with new heating and cooling plants, modern
electrical and plumbing systems, a new roof and wheelchair accessibility.
"This remodeled facility will provide the up-to-date environment
necessary for the center's scientists to conduct issue-driven, problem-solving
research in production, harvesting, storage and marketing of the nation's
staple grains, including wheat, corn and sorghum," ARS Administrator
Edward
B. Knipling said.
Strategically located in the nation's "bread basket," GMPRC
scientists develop new technologies to protect and improve U.S. grain
production and products that are important human foods, livestock feeds and
potential sources of biofuels in both domestic and international markets. For
example, some GMPRC researchers are developing new ways to monitor and control
stored-product pests that can invade grain warehouses and consumer pantries,
according to center director
Thomas
Shanower. Others are investigating new technologies for monitoring and
sorting grain with specific genetic or quality characteristics.
Researchers at GMPRC are screening wheat ancestors and wild relatives for
valuable genes that could provide much-needed resistance against costly disease
and insect threats to wheat. Cereal chemists there have also conducted
groundbreaking studies on grain proteins and starch, with the long-term goal of
providing consumers with high-quality, grain-based products with optimal
nutrition, flavor and functionality.
Another focus of GMPRC researchers is on developing user-friendly resources
to help farmers conserve soil in this wind-prone region. Along with
collaborators, they created the Wind Erosion Prediction System, the most
cutting-edge model available for forecasting wind erosion.
Invited speakers at today's ceremony included Senator Pat Roberts, Governor
Kathleen Sebelius, USDA Under Secretary
Gale
Buchanan and Knipling. Guests included academic and research partners,
business and agricultural leaders, and public officials.