Kansas State-Olathe Updates NBAF

Photo courtesy of K-State Olathe. (L to R) Dr. Ben Wolfe, Dr. Ken Burton, Steve Witte, Bob Petersen, Dr. Rich Linton

It was a day to tout all things Kansas State University, and the majority Wildcat alumni in attendance did just that at the Ag Business Council’s October luncheon meeting held (where else) on the Olathe campus of KSU, October 13. Council members were also updated on the progress of what could be considered the state’s jewel-in-the-crown of its agricultural roots and identity – the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility.

Council Executive Director Bob Petersen introduced Benjamin Wolfe, Ph.D., recently installed as Dean and CEO of K-State Olathe last June. Dr. Wolfe noted the Olathe campus aims to develop the region as the ‘front door’ for the Next Generation of Agriculture and a “pioneer in making food.” A particular focus, he said, would be breaking new ground for innovative urban food systems.

Kansas State University President Richard Linton was also on hand to talk about challenges facing the university as well as its advances and progress. Challenges include building back student enrollment, which declined 21% over the past eight years. But Dr. Linton is encouraged that fundraising efforts have been fruitful. He said K-State earlier this year received a $25 million grant from the Kansas Legislature, and the school is currently engaged in an effort to raise $75 million in private gifts to qualify for a supplemental 3:1 match from the state. So far the university has raise $51 million toward that goal. The funds would be used to upgrade the College of Agriculture facilities, renovating two buildings and adding another.

Speaking of new buildings and facilities on or around Kansas State’s campus, Dr. Kenneth Burton, Deputy Director, USDA/ARS, National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, said the U.S. currently does not have a laboratory with maximum biocontainment levels (BSL-4) to study high-consequence zoonotic diseases affecting large livestock. But not for long.

NBAF – replacing the Plum Island Animal Disease Center located off Long Island, New York – is almost fully constructed. It operates on a secure federally-owned site on the northeast corner of the KSU campus, adjacent to KSU’s Biosecurity Research Institute in Pat Roberts Hall. The facility is scheduled for official commissioning in March 2023. “Construction is essentially complete,” Dr. Burton said, noting, too, that 80% of the staff has been hired.

NBAF will be the first laboratory facility in the U.S. to provide BSL-4 laboratories capable of housing cattle and other large livestock. NBAF also will feature a Biologics Development Module (BDM) for the pilot scale development of vaccines and other countermeasures, augmenting laboratory research and accelerating technology transfer to industry partners. NBAF’s location in Manhattan, Kansas, places it within the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor, the largest concentration of animal health companies in the world.