Kansas is now competing with 13 other states for a new federal bioscience facility run by the Department of Defense. Today Senator Pat Roberts' staff hosted a tour of K-State's new Biosecurity Research Institute for national USDA representatives.

Pat Roberts’ group says a little show-and-tell worked when it came to bringing the Big Red One to Fort Riley, so his group brought the USDA to see for itself that Kansas is serious about bioscience.

It's not much to look at now, but in several years land owned by K-State could be home to the proposed National Bio and Agro Defense Facility or NBAF.

"It will be a federal facility having additional expertise in the area working on threats to the agricultural and food infrastructure so it would be very positive for the university and state," says Ron Trewyn, KSU Vice Provost for Research, Graduate School Dean.

Studying the effects of diseases on animals and plants is also the goal of K-State's new Biosecurity Research Institute, so the land next door is one of two sites in Kansas up for consideration for the facility that would be 500,000 square feet and cost $450 million.

"Community support will be huge in where this facility is selected and there are other states where there isn't a lot of support or is opposition. Kansas has history with our new facility here in Manhattan, that just opened in the fall, of a strong support for this research," says Mike Leyfert, Pat Roberts' Legislative Director.

Thursday's tour of the current facility is meant to impress officials deciding on the final site, especially because the NBAF would employ between 300 and 500 employees and is expected to have a $3 billion dollar impact over a 20-year-period.

“I think we have some capabilities in this facility right now where we could jump start some of the projects needed for the federal government today, because of the states investment in this," says Trewyn.

Fort Leavenworth is also a Kansas candidate for the new facility, but selection of the site isn't expected until Fall of 2008. Then construction wouldn't be done until around 2013. Governor Kathleen Sebelius has said getting the federal bioscience facility is a top priority. The Kansas Bioscience Authority has pledged $250,000 to help the effort.