MANHATTAN, KANSAS, US — Kansas State University (KSU) on Sept. 18 celebrated the opening of the Western Star Global Grain and Food Center with a ribbon-cutting celebration that university and government officials called one of the most important days in the university and state’s history. The ribbon-cutting comes a little more than two years after groundbreaking on the facility was held.

“Today, we open much more than a building,” said Dan Moser, Eldon Gideon dean of the College of Agriculture at KSU. “We open doors to new opportunities, innovations and a brighter future.”

The 178,000-square-foot, three-story Western Global Grain and Food Center is the largest agricultural construction project in KSU’s history, a $130 million investment designed to create room for researchers, students and industry partners to work side by side. It is also the final piece of KSU’s $216 million Agriculture Innovation Initiative.

The facility includes specialized teaching and research laboratories, pilot-scale processing spaces, flexible interdisciplinary research areas, a 236-seat lecture hall and designated collaboration spaces. It also connects Call Hall and Weber Hall, which serve other areas of the College of Agriculture, by enclosed walkways.

“This new facility is truly unique in its partnership impact and purpose,” Moser said. “Within these walls, the bakery science students will develop the products and technology that feed a growing population. Milling science students will learn to transform Kansas grain into value-added products that nourish communities and provide economic value to the state of Kansas. Feed and pet food science students will advance animal nutrition and support industries that are essential to animal agriculture and companion animal health. Food science students will work to improve food quality, safety and innovation, while helping address some of the most pressing challenges in our global food system.”

Ernie Minton, interim associate vice president for extension and engagement, said the day is not one that KSU will forget.

“Today, we cut the ribbon on the Western Star Global Grain and Food Center, a building that does not simply add square footage to our campus,” Minton said. “It fundamentally changes what is possible in grain science, animal science, food innovation, and the future of agriculture.”

He said there is “no other facility like this anywhere.”

“The Western Star Global Grain and Food Center brings together disciplines that deserve to share a roof,” he said. “Milling, baking and food science, alongside animal feed and pet food science. The connection physically to Weber and Call halls. So this complex spans both livestock and grain derived value-added foods. A combination found nowhere else in the world.”

Minton said the global demand for livestock and grain-based products has never been greater or more sophisticated, and with the opening of the new facility KSU is ready to meet that demand.

“We’ve always had world class strength in grain and animal sciences, and deep ties to the agricultural heartland that feeds this nation,” he said. “What was missing was not square footage. What was missing was the connection. This building complex is that connection.”

In addition to university and government officials, guests heard from Chase Nagel, a senior in bakery science and management and milling science and management. Nagel is president of the Bakery Science Club, involved with the flour sales team in the Milling Science Club, and has gained valuable industry experience through internships with Grain Craft and Miller Milling. She currently works in the Grain Craft innovation and quality laboratory.

“As students, we learn best when we can take what we learn in the classrooms and apply it into real world situations,” Nagel said. “For our labs, pilot plant, and hands-on exercises, we develop skills that prepare us for careers in the grain and food science industries. The Western Star will take those opportunities even further. It will give students a place to collaborate, work with new technologies, and solve problems, and learn alongside faculty and industry professionals.

“As a student studying both bakery and milling science, I learned how connected the different areas of the grain and food industry really are. Farmers, millers, bakers, food scientists, engineers and business professionals all play an important role in bringing food from the field to the consumer. Having a facility that brings these areas together creates even more opportunities for students like myself to understand those connections. For students, this building is more than just a new classroom or laboratory. It is a place where we can gain experience, build relationships, and try new things. and figure out where we want our careers to take us.”

Following the ribbon-cutting, guests took part in demonstrations and conversations with students and faculty. The complex includes the Ardent Mills milling teaching laboratory, the Lallemand baking teaching laboratory and the Jim and Lauran Johnson wet processing pilot plant.

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Eric Schroeder is managing editor of Milling & Baking News, Food Business News and World Grain. He has more than 25 years of experience covering the grain, milling and baking industries for Sosland Publishing Company. He is a graduate of the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas. Connect with Eric Schroeder via email.