World Grain - December 2012 - 41

FEATURE: WORTH THE WAIT

as the site for the new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), to be built by the Department of Homeland Security. The Animal Science facility is on the site where the NBAF is going to be located. To make room for the NBAF, the Animal Science department feed mill, which like the current Grain Science department feed mill is well beyond its useful life, has to be torn down, Behnke said. “The key to the whole thing as far as I’m concerned is that the Animal Science department needed a new feed mill and the Grain Science department needed a new feed mill,” Behnke said. “The dean of agriculture at the time, Fred Cholick, said it made good sense to build one mill to accommodate both the grain science and animal science programs and needs, and directed the departments to do that.” “If we can combine our needs and our resources, then we can get a heck of a feed mill instead of two substandard feed mills. As a result, the state stepped up with $5.2 million, which is one-third of the cost of the mill.” The state of Kansas, Kansas Bioscience Authority, Kansas State University and its College of Agriculture along with other donors are providing $10.3 million in funding required for the new facility. An additional $3 million worth of equipment is needed for the facility and the majority of that has been donated by industry partners. Several years ago, the O.H. Kruse family of Goshen, California, U.S., provided the lead gift of $2 million to honor the company founder, O.H. Kruse, and to stress the importance of educating and preparing the next generation of feed industry professionals. The decision to build a single facility and combine feed-related activities of the departments of grain science and animal sciences was made to gain efﬁciencies and synergies for the beneﬁt of the teaching, research and outreach programs of both departments and the College of Agriculture. “The facility will be jointly managed

and will provide research diets and supplements for all university animal units as well as serve as a teaching platform for all students studying feed science and animal nutrition,” said Ken Ohde, head of the department of animal sciences and industry at KSU. The facility will serve as the new home of the feed science and management program, which has provided nearly 700 graduates to the U.S. feed manufacturing industry during the 60 years since the industry helped establish the program at KSU. In addition, several thousand domestic and international feed industry professionals have participated in educational short courses and seminars provided by the program. “The new feed technology innova-

duction and teaching feed mill and a biosafety-level 2 teaching and research feed mill, referred to as the Cargill Feed Safety Research Center. The center Fred Fairchild will be designed so Project manager that scientists will be able to not only safely work with lowvirulence pathogens like salmonella in feeds, but also use the facility for other research, teaching and outreach activities. The research center will feature a 1-tph CPM pelleting system equipped with a Wenger High Intensity Pre-Conditioner, Loss-in-Weight feeder system and a Bliss counterﬂow pellet cooler.

“It’s like the old cliche: ‘If you build it, they will come. I truly believe once we get this thing built and functioning, it’s going to be very active and in demand.”
— Keith Behnke, retired KSU professor

tion center is one of KSU’s top priorities as we work to become a top-50 public research university by 2025,” said KSU President Kirk Schulz. “We are enthusiastic about the new facilities, which will beneﬁt the industry as well as our students.” MILL FEATURES Fred Fairchild, professor in the feed science program and project manager, said feed industry equipment manufacturers have been very generous in supporting the project. “All the equipment in the mill needed to either be bought or donated, and almost all of it has been donated,” he said. “We have received well over $2 million worth of equipment donated. We only have about $300,000 right now that we have to pay for.” The facility, which stands 142 feet tall — twice as tall as the Hal Ross Flour Mill located next to it — will include a modern, automated 5-tph pro-

“Once built, it will be the only facility in the northern hemisphere where you can intentionally infect feed with live pathogens such as Salmonella, ecoli or whatever, and then process it to see what it takes to kill it,” Behnke said. “Obviously there is a need for this. When we talk to folks in the rendering industry, they really want us to get this built so they have someplace to get this kind of work done.” He also noted that it will provide companies that sell microbial control chemicals with a place to obtain data to support their product development. “It’s the old cliché: ‘If you build it, they will come,’” Behnke said. “I truly believe that once we get this thing built and functioning, it’s going to be very active and in demand.” Besides food/feed safety, the mill can also conduct research in critical areas such as energy efﬁciency, feed quality and nutritional performance. “The new mill is designed to accommodate nearly any type of pro41

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