Plant biology

Kansas leads the nation in wheat and sorghum production with about 20 percent of the U.S. wheat crop and 40 percent of U.S. sorghum crop. Kansas is a leading provider of food and feed security around the world. Today, wheat is primarily used for food and sorghum as animal feed. However, opportunities abound to expand these uses through advanced plant design. Fundamental scientific discoveries and new commercialized products resulting from this research will spur economic development and wealth creation in our state.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, plant and animal production and the industries it supports — food manufacturing, industrial and energy uses — is one of the largest industry sectors in Kansas, contributing more than $10 billion to the state’s GDP growth of 34.9 percent over the last six years. During this same time frame, plant and animal production alone has grown over $1.3 billion, resulting in a stimulus of $1.2 billion additional growth in its related industries.

The state has abundant natural resources including land, sun, air and water, which are the foundation for the cultivation of advanced-design crops and livestock production. The value of land or suitable soil for food production is a tremendous resource for Kansas and is the linchpin for food production. The land suitable for production is valued at $33 billion to our state. Wheat, sorghum and other cereals account for nearly 60 percent of all available land use; pastureland, rangeland, our native grasses that support animal health account for nearly 33 percent of the total.

Another critical asset in our state is human capital. Nearly 90 percent of the 64,000 farms are individual or family farms that produce $2 billion of value in plants and $6 billion of value in livestock. These producers of food, fuel, fiber, and industrial products for the world will determine the true economic value that can be discovered and delivered through advanced plant design. The profit potential and additional value through commercialization and intellectual property discovery must be available to the production sector. If not, the technology transfer and market delivery is not viable.

Global trade is increasingly important to our state. Kansas relies on exports for sale of nearly half its wheat production. Agriculture alone contributes 28 percent of the state’s total product export value, which supports about 36,000 jobs on and off the farm. The wheat industry is the state’s top export sector valued at $800 million. Successful commercialization and delivery of value-added technologies through advanced plant design will engage the international scientific and buying community and in turn increase exports.