About

CAHNRS is a leading driver of research at WSU, contributing to more than 31 percent of the university’s extramural funding budget. CAHNRS research and Extension faculty brought in more than $84 million in FY2021 from competitive extramural funding sources including federal agencies, Washington state commodity commissions, and other nonfederal agency grants.

We support a sustainable future through the powerful combination of both discovery and translational research designed to address the grand challenges of the 21st century—regionally and globally. We discover, develop, and transfer knowledge that: contributes to a safe and abundant food supply; promotes sustainability of agricultural and economic systems; supports energy innovations; encourages careful stewardship of natural resources and ecological systems; and enhances the well-being of individuals, families, and communities.

Research at CAHNRS is as diverse as the communities, families, businesses, agriculture systems, natural resources, and landscapes across the state of Washington. Our goal is to improve economic prosperity, environmental sustainability, community resilience, and quality of life for the people of Washington and beyond.

Core Research Facilities

Our capacity for research is strengthened by state-of-the-art facilities and an extensive network of research farms throughout the state.

CAHNRS Grant Awards – FY21

FY2021 Funding sources include 47% and 11% for research from federal and non-federal sources, respectively; 26% and 16% for extension from federal and non-federal sources, respectively.

More than 73% of CAHNRS extramural funding is from federal sources.


Federal sources include USDA, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, National Science Foundation, Department of the Interior, EPA, NASA, National Institute of Health, and flow-through sub-awards.

Non-federal sources include commodity commissions, the State of Washington, private foundations, businesses, local governments, foreign sponsors, and other state governments.