The Dane G. Hansen Foundation, Logan, Kan., has awarded a $200,000 grant to the Kansas Wheat Commission Research Foundation to assist with a greenhouse expansion project at the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center (KWIC) in Manhattan, Kan.
The grant will assist in the construction of a four-bay greenhouse to be used for public-private collaborative research and commercialization in wheat biotechnology. Molecular and genetic research done in the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center laboratories will be conducted in the greenhouses. A more controlled environment will both enhance and accelerate results.
The 12,750 square-foot expansion will be constructed adjacent to existing greenhouses, offices and laboratories at the KWIC. The new space will include separate rooms for potting, seed processing, soil preparation and a soil room to receive and handle bulk potting. Special temperature control and grid lighting systems are also included in the project.
Additional funding for the expansion will come from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and the Kansas Wheat Commission. Groundbreaking for the project is expected to begin later this month.
Wheat is a significant part of the economic vitality of the Dane G. Hansen Foundation service area in Northwest Kansas, and the Foundation is pleased to support a project that enhances crop development for all farmers.