WASHINGTON STATE
UNIVERSITY
–
Agency 365
2008 Supplemental Budget Request
Emerging Global Animal Health
& Agriculture Issues (PL-GA)
Click Here for a
printer-friendly version
AGENCY RECOMMENDATION AND
FISCAL SUMMARY
Washington State University requests $3.85 million to confront two
major, pressing factors that threaten public health: the danger of
disease transmission from animals to humans (zoonotic diseases), and the
condition of our food supply (both safety and abundance.) For instance,
recent deaths and hospitalizations associated with e-coli outbreaks in
spinach and illnesses from consumption of raw milk are examples of
national consumer food safety issues that have impacted the state’s
industry. There are issues related to avian flu and prion diseases such
as “BSE.” In
addition, Washington is facing a number of serious threats including
sudden oak death, honey bee colony collapse, grape leaf roller virus,
and other diseases.
In addition to addressing critical public health concerns, these
initiatives will also ensure that Washington agriculture and food
products remain competitive in the global marketplace. The health of
people as well as plants and animals are closely intertwined: public
health is not only an issue of medical science but one of plant, animal,
natural resource and economic science as well.
Specifically, WSU requests a supplemental budget appropriation for:
1)
$1.75 million for
creation of new WSU School of Global Animal Health
is to provide practical, innovative solutions to
infectious disease challenges through research, education, global
outreach, and application of disease control at the animal‑human
interface. The funding will secure four key internationally-recognized
faculty positions to launch the school in the areas of animal-human
disease transmission, vaccine development, disease surveillance and
global animal health policy. The School of Global Animal Health will
advance science, people, and policy to discover novel approaches for
disease intervention and delivery of preventive health care for animals
and humans.
2) $2.1 million to address pressing farm labor issues, pest and
disease threats to Washington crops, and emerging, food safety issues. Much of this effort
will be delivered close to industry centers at WSU Research and
Extension stations.
|
|
|
2007-08
|
|
2008-09
|
2007-09
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Biennium
|
|
|
FTE
|
|
FTE
|
|
|
|
General Fund State
|
-
|
-
|
29.0
|
3,850,000
|
3,850,000
|
NARRATIVE JUSTIFICATION AND IMPACT STATEMENT
The Washington agri-food industry—which
includes the entire supply line of producers, processors, grocers and
consumers—remains
one of the most dynamic and diverse in the United States. The complexity
of our state’s
agri-food industry, as measured by the number of commodities
commercially produced, is second only to California. This $30-billion
industry
contributes 13 percent to the state's economy and employs more than
170,000 people, making it Washington's number one employer.
Today, however, the state’s
agri-food industry is challenged as never before. Forces such as
globalization, escalating energy costs, reduced labor availability, and
environmental and natural resource pressures all threaten to compromise
Washington's position as an agricultural leader. These and other forces
are resulting in radical changes in the structure and requirements
placed on our food sector. More ominously, biological threats such as
zoonotic diseases of commercially important animals, colony collapse
disorder of pollinating honey bees, sudden oak death that could
potentially devastate much of the ornamental horticulture industry and
other susceptible plants, and plant viruses impacting high-value crops
such as tree fruits and grapes, threaten public health and safety and
the vitality of the affected industrial sectors, and require immediate
research-based solutions.
School of Global Animal Health
The launch of the Washington State University School of Global Animal
Health will require both institutional internal reallocation of
resources and new funding. This request for a $1.75M state allocation in
the supplemental budget will provide funding to initiate the
developmental phase of the School, with a goal of building on existing
strengths within the College of Veterinary Medicine and establishing
leadership through recruitment of additional senior founding faculty as
core program leaders.
Development of a new
graduate program, designed to dynamically collaborate across
institutional boundaries with the University of Washington and health
institutions throughout the State of Washington will be initiated using
reallocated resources within WSU.
While this initial request is centered on recruitment of the faculty
expertise needed for the first phase of development, the School of
Global Animal Health will seek federal and private funding as well to
provide needed facilities, additional new junior faculty with unique
expertise, and support for cross-institutional and global outreach.
Positions for four new faculty members with expertise in global health
and the animal‑human interface are requested. Each position will allow
recruitment of internationally recognized senior-level faculty, with
established extramurally funded research programs. These individuals are
essential for strengthening inter-institutional linkages and developing
the graduate program. The specific areas of expertise are detailed
below.
·
Professor in Zoonotic Disease Transmission ‑ provides new
expertise in mapping routes of transmission of pathogens from animals
and their environment to humans, such as
E. coli, with emphasis on new strategies for blocking transmission.
This position will complement the existing strengths in zoonotic
medicine at the University of Washington.
·
Professor in Vaccine Development ‑ provides new expertise in
developing vaccines targeted at animals with the goal of preventing
ongoing transmission to humans. This
position will be linked inter-institutionally with members of the
Washington Vaccine Alliance (Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center,
Infectious Diseases Research Institute, PATH, PNNL, Seattle Biomedical
Research Institute, UW, and WSU).
·
Professor in Emerging Disease Surveillance ‑ provides unique new
expertise in detection of emerging diseases at a global level that
threaten human and/or animal health within the State, and focuses on
development of novel testing procedures and screening methodology.
·
Professor in Global Animal Health Policy and Metrics ‑ provides
needed expertise in measuring intervention outcomes and formulating
science-based policy to control international spread of animal and
zoonotic diseases.
Each position will include technical support and a funded graduate
student. Operational support for the School is also requested.
Responding to Emerging Areas Facing Washington Agriculture
Three programs are proposed to address emerging food security issues
facing Washington State:
Technological Solutions to Address Farm Labor Shortages
Perhaps the most critical and immediate issue facing Washington
agriculture is the availability of a supply of labor to service the
state’s
labor-intensive horticultural industries. Immigration reform and other
factors affecting labor availability have resulted in some highly
valuable crops being left only partially harvested.
Intense price competition from international producers with
significantly lower labor costs have left producers looking for
immediate solutions to reduce labor costs. Two automation and
mechanization researchers located at the Irrigated Agriculture Research
and Extension Center in Prosser are proposed to be added to the Center
for Precision Agricultural Systems to spur the development of new
technologies aimed at reducing farm labor requirements, increasing the
number of high-paying jobs, and enhancing farm worker safety.
A total of $400,000 is required to fund this program.
Protecting Washington Crops from Emerging Threats
New production systems and alternative crops introduced into Washington
State and the ever-present occurrence of new plant pests have created
the need for rapid response in developing alternative pest management
systems. WSU works in close partnership with the Washington State
Commission on Pesticide Registration (WSCPR) to conduct research,
implementation, and demonstration activities in support of pesticide
registration and integrated pest management solutions for minor crops.
This work is critical in developing effective and environmentally sound
integrated pest management systems that would otherwise have been
unfeasible due to economic constraints.
Washington is facing a striking number of new pests such as iris
yellow spot virus of onion, tuberworm and beet leafhopper of potato, hop
looper of hops, High Plains virus of sweet corn, grape leafroll virus in
vineyards, and knotweed in riparian zones. Approximately 20 percent of
WSCPR-funded projects are for pests that were relatively unknown in our
state five years ago. In addition, registrations for several important
pesticides used in the production of minor crops have or will soon be
expiring, requiring the need for substitute chemical and/or biological
controls. Increasingly, the WSCPR is funding studies to generate
environmental safety data. The Commission is working with state and
federal agencies and other stakeholders on developing reduced risk
alternatives for control of burrowing shrimp control in oyster
production.
WSU provides critical programs to the tree fruit and grape industries to
assure that any plant material brought into the state is free from plant
viruses. Funding for these programs has been largely by federal earmarks
that were eliminated in 2007 and remain uncertain in the future.
Research support is requested to assure continual delivery and testing
of programs in the wake of recent federal cutbacks. A plant and insect
diagnostic lab dedicated to serve central and eastern Washington will
provide one‑on‑one assistance in the identification of home and
commercial pests. Funding to support WSU’s
sudden oak death laboratory in Puyallup will provide front line defense
against this deadly disease threatening the state’s
ornamental tree industry. Funding to support research on colony collapse
disorder will enhance our ability to address this critical and emergent
problem that threatens the sustainability of many crops dependent upon
honey bees for pollination.
A total of $700,000 is required to fund this program.
Building Safe and Efficient Local Food Systems
Concurrent with the global influences noted above is the emergence of a
local food system that is largely being driven by urban consumers,
resulting in productive rural‑urban linkages throughout the state.
Recent E. coli
outbreaks thought to be tied to organic spinach farms in California and
hospitalizations attributed to the consumption of raw milk serve as
examples of consumer risks associated with new food supply chains
evolving to meet consumer needs. A value-added agriculture specialist
located at the Puyallup Research and Extension Center will focus on food
safety and efficiency of community-supported agriculture, farmers
markets, and other evolving marketing systems. A food marketing
economist will provide critical analysis required to continue to advance
the state’s
transforming food sector and evaluate rapidly emerging opportunities
around organic and sustainable food production.
A total of $300,000 is requested to fund this program.
WSU will implement change through its Research and Extension Centers
WSU’s
network of research and extension facilities across the state provides
the first line of defense in addressing these emerging issues. To
implement these three programs and other emerging areas of research,
additional research support is required at these facilities. Research
and extension center faculty and staff work in close collaboration with
industry in identifying critical issues and developing research-based
solutions for immediate on-the-ground application.
This network of facilities includes:
·
the Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center located
in Prosser
·
the Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center in Wenatchee,
·
the Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center in
Mount Vernon,
·
the Puyallup Research and Extension Center,
·
the Pullman Research Station and three additional research farms
located in eastern Washington.
Interest in organic and sustainable production systems, the recent
introduction of new crops (e.g., oil seeds for biofuels), and the rapid
expansion of other sectors (e.g., tree fruit, wine grapes, urban
horticulture) has greatly expanded the breadth of research programs
needed to support the state’s agricultural
industry. For example, organic acreage and research activities have been
added to all four research and extension centers and an organic farm has
been developed in Pullman. A state-of-the-art research orchard is being
developed near Wenatchee in partnership with the tree fruit industry.
Funds are requested to provide support personnel to conduct field-level
research addressing these emerging issues at WSU’s
research and extension centers. Required support positions includes a
manager for the new research orchard, an organic farm manager in
Pullman, a coordinator of perennial crop operations in Prosser, and a
biofuels farm specialist for the eastern Washington experimental fields.
Funds are also requested to operate and maintain the recently purchased
orchard near Wenatchee.
A total of $700,000 is requested to provide research support at these
facilities.
Outcomes
The following outcomes have been identified as likely results of
this request coupled with redirected funding from other sources.
Outcome 1. The School of Global Animal Health will solidify the
leadership of the State of Washington in global health by:
·
Mitigating the impacts of infectious diseases on animal and
human health and the food supply;
·
Improving global competitiveness of Washington State in the
animal and human health sectors;
·
Transforming current strengths at Washington State University
into preeminence in the control of infectious diseases at the
animal-human interface;
·
Enhancing partnerships among Washington'
s premier state, federal and private institutions.
Outcome 2. Increased global competitiveness and higher-valued uses of
Washington-grown agricultural products, leading to income and employment
growth:
·
Research and education programs focusing on value-added business
development will lead to an increase in the number and rate of success
of new business ventures involving value-added agricultural products;
·
Improved plant diagnostic capabilities will reduce yield loss
from devastating insects and plant diseases;
·
Development of automation and mechanization technologies for
Washington’s
horticultural industry will result in substantial reductions in
production costs and increased farm worker safety;
·
Research and education programs focused on community supported
agriculture, farmers markets, and other evolving marketing systems, will
provide alternative and profitable food supply chains for Washington
producers;
·
Introduction of alternative crops will provide farmers new crops
to introduce into their operations, resulting in enhanced profitability
and enterprise diversification.
Outcome 3. Improved environmental quality through mitigation of the
impacts of agricultural production on land, water, and air quality
through:
·
Biologically intensive and organic agriculture research and
education programs that will provide economically viable alternatives
for producers opting for lower input, sustainable production systems;
·
Introduction of new biological pest control methods that will
reduce the use of pesticides and reduce costs of production for the
state’s agricultural
producers;
·
On-farm best management practices will be developed to improve
water quality, enhance salmon habitat, and increase the profitability of
farming operations.
Washington State University proposes biennial reports to the Governor
and the Washington Legislature on the progress this partnership has made
on this budget request, including performance measured against these
short-term and long-term outcomes.
FISCAL DETAILS
|
By Program
|
FTE
|
FY 08
|
FTE
|
FY 09
|
TOTAL
|
|
Instruction
|
|
|
0.7
|
75,000
|
75,000
|
|
Research
|
|
|
4.7
|
2,081,000
|
2,081,000
|
|
Public Service
|
|
|
3.6
|
544,000
|
544,000
|
|
Plant
|
|
|
20.0
|
1,150,000
|
1,150,000
|
|
Total
|
-
|
-
|
29.0
|
3,850,000
|
3,850,000
|
|
By Object
|
FTE
|
FY 08
|
FTE
|
FY 09
|
TOTAL
|
|
Salaries/
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Faculty
|
|
|
6.0
|
1,269,000
|
1,269,000
|
|
A/P
|
|
|
12.0
|
645,000
|
645,000
|
|
TA/GA
|
|
|
1.0
|
201,000
|
201,000
|
|
Classified
|
