Olympia
Update No. 3 • September 21, 2006
The 2007-2009 State Operating Budget Request
for an Industry-based Unified Agriculture Initiative
Growing Washington:
Industry groups endorse
the Unified Agriculture Initiative
From: Larry Ganders, Assistant to the President
Printable Adobe PDF Version
Just days after the
proposal was submitted to the governor, endorsements are already pouring in for
the $10.8 million state operating budget request to fill critical gaps in
university research and extension programs.
The package responds to Gov. Christine Gregoire's call for programs that demonstrate a clear path to
results, make Washington globally competitive, leverage education for economic
development, and apply research to develop new state products for the
marketplace. The governor’s fiscal and policy staffs are reviewing the proposal.
The governor
will make a recommendation later this year to the Legislature which convenes in
January.
The proposal is unlike any
request ever submitted by the university. The “Industry-based Unified Agriculture Initiative”
was actually prepared with direction from leaders representing a diverse state
food and agriculture industry. The proposal will build the economic viability and
sustainability of Washington’s $29 billion food and agriculture industry, which
employs 170,000 people and is the second most diverse in the nation. Agriculture
is the state’s largest industry.
The latest formal
endorsements to the budget request submitted by Washington State University
include the Washington Wheat Commission, the Washington Tree Fruit Research
Commission, the Washington Dairy Federation, the Washington Council of Farmer
Cooperatives, the Washington Farm Bureau, the Washington Association of Wheat
Growers, and the Washington Red Raspberry Commission.
Many more producer
associations, commodity commissions, and other food and agriculture stakeholder
groups indicate they are poised to endorse the proposal as well.
The process leading to
the request began late last year when key agricultural and food industry leaders
began an unprecedented review of the WSU agriculture budget and programs that spanned more
than 50 meetings.
This $10.8 million state general fund operating
request is only one component of a package to help grow the Washington
agriculture and food economy. It is
coupled with internal reallocations, federal contracts, and private funding. WSU
has already reallocated 23 faculty positions as a result of industry
discussions.
The request was
packaged to deliver three distinct outcomes for the state:
- Development of
high-value uses for Washington-grown agricultural products, leading to new
products that generate income and jobs.
- Improved product
quality and reduced costs that will lead to global competitiveness.
- Mitigation of the
impacts of agricultural production on land, water, and air quality.
Highlights of the
Request
- Generating $250
million of economic benefits over the next several years.
The proposal will create significantly more income in the longer run as
research investments generate new technologies that are adopted by industry
participants.
- Filling research
gaps in the development of value-added agricultural products and
economically and environmentally sustainable food production.
More than half of the 24 new faculty and 36
support staff positions will be located off the Pullman campus at locations
around the state.
- Plugging critical
research gaps for Washington’s Wine Industry.
The request includes an enologist and a
statewide Viticulture and Enology Program leader to enhance service
to the state’s rapidly expanding wine industry.
- Reinvigorating
WSU’s cherry breeding program.
The request enhances the program that produced the Rainier sweet cherry with
a stone fruit breeder co-located in Prosser and Wenatchee.
- Developing new
products from Washington-produced
wheat and other grains with a new food technologist position.
- Developing new
tree fruit varieties with
characteristics demanded by domestic and international consumers through a
new researcher in Wenatchee.
- Restoring WSU
research and extension centers
located throughout the state with $1.3 million in long-needed core funding.
- Quickly addressing
emerging state issues with an
industry-advised $1 million annual competitive grant funding process for WSU
research and extension faculty.
- Enhancing research
in organic and sustainable production systems
with $400,000 annually in competitive
grants for Biological Intensive and Organic Agriculture.
- Fostering
entrepreneurship with Puyallup
and Wenatchee-based value-added business development extension specialists.
- Increasing faculty
support of dairy, beef, sheep, and other livestock producers.
The positions include two livestock nutrition and management positions, a
large animal veterinary clinician, a veterinary outreach specialist, a
livestock reproduction specialist. Two livestock nutrition and management
positions, one located in northwestern Washington and one in eastern
Washington.
- Establishing
one-on-one assistance in the identification of home and commercial pests
with a new plant and insect diagnostic lab dedicated to serve central and
eastern Washington.
- Spurring the
development of new technologies aimed at reducing farm labor requirements
and enhancing farm worker safety
with two new positions – one in Prosser, one in Pullman.
- Improving water
quality and salmon habitat and increasing the profitability of western
Washington farms with a water
resource specialist in Mount Vernon.
- Growing in-state
talent with environmental
horticulture continuing education courses and a four-year degree in western
Washington through WSU Puyallup.
For a
complete text of the Industry-based Unified Agriculture Request, as it was
submitted to the governor,
click here.
Olympia
Update is produced for persons interested in state government developments
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