WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL, HUMAN, AND NATURAL RESOURCE SCIENCES
RESEARCH & EXTENSION FACT SHEET
Washington State University’s College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS) is making a difference. With 15 academic departments and schools, five research and extension centers and 39 county Extension offices distributed across Washington State, CAHNRS provides global leadership in discovering, accessing, and disseminating knowledge that contributes to a safe, abundant, and affordable food and fiber supply; promotes the wellbeing of individuals, families, and communities; enhances sustainability of agricultural and economic systems; and cultivates stewardship of natural resources and ecological systems.
CAHNRS Departments & Schools Agricultural and Food Systems Animal Sciences Apparel, Merchandising, Design & Textiles Biological Systems Engineering Crop & Soil Sciences Entomology Horticulture Human Development
STATEWIDE PRESENCE AND MISSION Extension With 39 locations throughout the state, WSU Extension is the front door to the University. Extension builds the capacity of individuals, organizations, businesses and communities, empowering them to find solutions for local issues and to improve their quality of life. Extension collaborates with communities to create a culture of life-long learning and is recognized for its accessible, learner-centered, relevant, high quality, unbiased educational programs.
Integrated Plant Sciences Molecular Plant Sciences
Research and Education Centers
Plant Pathology
• Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center, Prosser—Potatoes, wine grapes, forages, biomass for biofuel, hops, and cherries; 950+ irrigated acres.
School of Design & Construction School of the Environment School of Economic Sciences WSU/UI School of Food Science— a two state partnership
Institutes, Programs, & Centers Agricultural Weather Network (AWN) Institute of Biological Chemistry IMPACT Center Clean Plant Center Northwest Center for Sustaining Agriculture & Natural Resources Center for Precision & Automated Agricultural Systems Field Disease Investigation Unit Composite Materials & Engineering Center Food & Environmental Quality Laboratory Advanced Plant Growth Facility
• Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center, Wenatchee—Tree fruits: apples, pears, cherries; 215 acres. • Puyallup Research and Extension Center—Soils, turf, small fruit breeding, Christmas trees, organic crops, forages, ornamental vegetation, hardwood biofuels, and low impact development/storm water treatment; dairy waste management and anaerobic digesters for bio-energy production; 375 acres. • Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center, Mt. Vernon— Small fruit and crops for maritime climates, potatoes, vegetables, flower bulbs, dry beans, and alfalfa; wheat for artisan bakeries, and barley for custom malting; 150+ acres.
Research Farms • Lind—Dryland wheat and barley; soil conservation and wind erosion research; 1,320 acres. • Othello—Irrigated potatoes, grain, corn, and forage research. • Pullman (Spillman and Cook Farms) and Central Ferry—Wheat, barley, peas, chickpeas, and lentils. • Vancouver—Raspberries. • Long Beach—Cranberries and oysters; partnership with the Pacific Coast Cranberry Research Foundation. • Vancouver, Mt. Vernon, Puyallup, Wenatchee, and Pullman—Organic tree fruit, vegetables, and grains.
STRATEGIC R & D
“WA 38” is a new crimson apple variety currently in release. The variety was developed at the WSU Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center in Wenatchee from a cross of Enterprise and Honeycrisp.
• Emphasize plant sciences, genetics, genomics, horticultural systems, dryland production systems, sustainable and organic agriculture, water quality/climate change, healthy foods, biofuels and bioproducts, and the economics of agriculture, natural resources, and the environment. • Continue innovation in agricultural production and postharvest systems, plant and animal biotechnology, and agro-environmental science.
Commodities • Washington State is the second most diverse agricultural economy in the United States with over 280 crops grown. Washington leads the country in the production of hops, spearmint oil, apples, grapes, and red raspberries. • Agriculture contributes more than $35B annually to the Washington State economy: $16B in agricultural production, $17B in food processing, and $2B from agricultural support industries. • Agriculture provides more than 150,000 jobs and generates $9.5B in farm gate value and $15B in annual exports. • The Northwest Potato Variety Development Program, a tri-state partnership of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, produces 57% of the nation’s potatoes. The program has released 38 varieties of potatoes since it began in 1985, improving disease resistance, drought tolerance, nutrient-use efficiency, and harvest yield for the industry. • Washington is the second largest wine producer in the U.S. WSU Pullman and Tri-Cities, and the Wine Science Center (in development), directly support Washington’s burgeoning wine industry. WSU offers the state’s only research-focused viticulture and enology program, including a four-year undergraduate major, graduate degrees, and two online certificate programs. • Washington State is fifth in the U.S. in wheat production with an annual value exceeding $1.1B. Since 1905, WSU breeders have released 97 varieties of wheat (nine in the last two years) and 24 varieties of barley. WSU varieties currently occupy 50% of the wheat acreage in Washington.
Washington Harvested Crop % of the U.S. Apples, all
59.7
Carrots, processing
36.0
Cherries, sweet
49.9
Grapes, Concord
43.4
Grapes, Niagra
25.4
Hops 79.8 Onions, all
Pears 47.9 Peas, wrinkled seed
67.2
Peppermint Oil
27.7
Potatoes, fall
22.7
Raspberries, red
92.3
Spearmint Oil
74.6
USDA 2011 Washington Annual Agriculture Bulletin. (2012 data has not been published.)
Washington Wine Industry
Economic Impact
GROWING A SUCCESSFUL WHEAT PROGRAM WSU and USDA have 50 scientists working in partnership on wheat research at WSU. This is the largest concentration of scientists focused on wheat research in the U.S., and one of largest in the world. Areas of focus include plant breeding and genetics, genomics, disease resistance, pest management, agronomics and cropping systems, end-use quality, and economics of the industry. The success of WSU’s wheat program is due in part to its advanced facilities including farms, labs, and greenhouses. A centerpiece of the program is the plant growth facility, a 15,000 sq. ft. structure built with funding from the wheat, barley and legume growers of Washington. One of our highest priorities is to further enhance our program through an expansion of the advanced plant growth facilities (below). Funding for this initiative comes from the Washington Grain Commission and cereal variety royalties. Additional funding for equipment is needed.
21.4
$8.6B
Wineries 750+ Wine Grape Growers
350+
Wine Production (cases)
12m
Full-Time Wine-Related Jobs 27,455 Annual figures provided by the Washington Wine Commission
Washington Wheat Industry Acres Grown
2.3M
Annual Crop Value
$1.1B
Rank, Washington Crops
3
U.S. Rank, World Production 4 Rank, U.S. Production Top County for U.S. Wheat Production Percent of Wheat Harvest Exported Internationally
5 Whitman, WA 85–90
Funding Sources (in millions)
$100
• Competitive funds supporting CAHNRS research and extension programs total $75–$80 million annually; the majority of these funds come from federal grants.
$83,675,892
80 $57,355,649
60 40
• Of this extramural support, 72% is from the USDA, 10% from NSF, 10% from DoE, 3% from NIH, 1% from DoI, and 1% from US-AID. • Additional funding comes from commodity commissions, private corporations, and endowments.
20 0
INVESTMENT & EXTRAMURAL SUPPORT
RESEARCH
EXTENSION
State Contributions Federal Capacity Funds External (All other funds)
• 80% of state funding is directed toward faculty and staff salaries. The remaining 20% is distributed to units for operating, matching funds, start-up packages, and intramural grant programs. • Every $1 of state investment leverages $3 of additional grants and other external funding.
INTERNATIONALLY RANKED • WSU’s plant and animal scientists rank 13th in the world and 6th in the U.S. for the number of journal articles produced.
(Thomson Reuters, “Essential Science Indicators,” July 2010)
Faculty Scholarly Productivity
Discipline
Rank
Plant Sciences
2
Horticulture 8 Food Science
6
Animal Sciences
4
Agronomy & Crop Sciences
7
From the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index. The index compiles overall institutional rankings on 375 universities offering Ph.D. degrees.
CONTACTS Ron Mittelhammer, Interim Dean of CAHNRS—mittelha@wsu.edu, 509-335-2574 James Moyer, Associate Dean & Director of ARC—agresearch@wsu.edu, 509-335-4563 Rich Koenig, Associate Dean & Director of Extension—richk@wsu.edu, 509-335-2933