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Gov. Brownback holds economic summit on animal healthBy Doug Rich
Gov. Sam Brownback held an economic summit in Manhattan, Kan., on June 9 to highlight the importance of the animal health sector to Kansas and the surrounding region. The animal health corridor, which runs from Columbia, Mo., to Manhattan, Kan., is quickly becoming a global center for the animal health industry. Brownback pointed to the success Kansas has experienced in attracting large dairy farms to southwest Kansas and said this success could be duplicated with the animal health industry. "I think we have the same potential with animal health," Brownback said. "We have a global industry that is already located here and the chance for us to go to Australia, South Africa, and European-based companies and say if you re-locate here you can expand your business footprint. The best global assets are based right here in Kansas." At the heart of the expansion of the animal health industry in Kansas is the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility that is being constructed in Manhattan, Kan. "I think we still don't grasp what NBAF will do for this region," said Ernst Heinen, vice president of research and development for Bayer Animal Health. Brownback said Kansans know that we are just one percent of the population but we know we can compete on a global basis if we work together. It was that type of collaborative effort that brought NBAF to Kansas and that type of effort can bring more attention to the animal health corridor. According to Brownback 32 percent of the global footprint for the animal health industry is located between Columbia, Mo., and Manhattan, Kan. He said 50 percent is possible with the assets that are being built right now. "This is not the governor giving a rah-rah speech; this is something that is clearly within our grasp," Brownback said. Bob Marcusse, president and CEO of the Kansas City Area Development Council, represents 18 counties in Missouri and Kansas. Marcusse said when they promote this area they look for a competitive advantage, something that sets this region apart from others around the country. "Life sciences is our competitive advantage, specifically in the animal health sector," Marcusse said. "What we discovered is that we don't just have national class assets but we have world class assets in the animal health sector." During the roundtable discussion several areas of need were identified. Among them is the need for a skilled workforce. Ernst Heinen agreed that a skilled and trained workforce is needed but that it could be hard to recruit to this area from the east or west coast. This leads into the second area of need, which is education. Kansas needs to train and retain laboratory technicians with animal science backgrounds. Brownback said he would like the veterinary school at Kansas State University to be one of the top five veterinary schools in the nation. The K-State veterinary school is currently ranked 18 out of 28 nationally. "One of our goals and one of our top 50 research university initiatives is to really up the number of our undergraduates that are participating in research," said Kirk Schulz, president of Kansas State University via pre-recorded video. "One of the things that NBAF will do is give our undergraduate students unique opportunities that they cannot get at any other university in the country." Brownback said Kansas and the animal health corridor are already a global center but now it is just a matter of building on that status and telling the world about us. Animal health companies need to know that if they are not here they need to think about being here because the innovations are happening here. Doug Rich can be reached by phone at 785-749-5304 or by e-mail at richhpj@aol.com.
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