Kansas State opens US$130M grain, feed and food research centre

USA – Kansas State University (K-State) has opened the Western Star Global Grain and Food Center, a US$130 million research and education facility bringing together grain, milling, feed, pet food and food science programmes.

The 178,000-square-foot, three-storey centre was officially opened on 18 September 2026 and is the largest agricultural construction project in K-State’s history.

It forms part of the university’s US$216 million Agriculture Innovation Initiative.

The facility provides a new home for K-State’s bakery science and management, feed and pet food science, food science and industry, and milling science and management programmes.

It also strengthens links with the Department of Animal Sciences and Industry.

The centre includes specialised teaching and research laboratories, pilot-scale processing facilities, flexible research areas, a 236-seat lecture hall and collaboration spaces for students, researchers and industry partners.

A feed and pet food pilot plant is among the facilities available for hands-on training, research and industry problem-solving.

The centre also includes a milling science teaching laboratory and pilot mill, allowing students to work with processing technologies at pilot scale.

K-State president Richard Linton said the facility would strengthen collaboration between disciplines and connect research, education and industry.

“But the buildings themselves are not the real story. The real story is what happens inside them,” Linton said.

“It brings our faculty together across disciplines. It creates an exceptional experience for our students. And it connects research, innovation, education and industry.”

The centre is physically connected to renovated spaces in Call and Weber halls, extending collaboration into animal science teaching and research.

K-State said this creates opportunities to link work in animal agriculture, nutrition, production and food systems across the agricultural value chain.

Eldon Gideon Moser, dean of K-State’s College of Agriculture, said the facility would bring students, researchers and industry partners together to support innovation.

“This center will bring students, faculty, researchers and industry partners together in ways that inspire discovery and accelerate solutions,” Moser said.

The project also reflects K-State’s focus on preparing students for careers across the grain, feed and food industries.

Its pilot-scale facilities are designed to give students practical experience while providing space for research and collaboration with industry.

Federal support for the centre included US$5.53 million in congressionally directed spending, contributing to the university’s investment in agricultural research infrastructure.

The opening adds new capacity for K-State to connect grain processing, milling, feed and pet food production, animal science and food manufacturing within a single research and education environment.

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