In 2020,
the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s agricultural laboratory moved into a
brand-new facility in Manhattan, next door to the KDA headquarters building. A
virtual open house tour is now available to allow Kansans an inside look at
this state-of-the-art facility.
The KDA lab
includes six lab sections: metrology, dairy, microbiology, pesticide,
industrial hemp, and feed and fertilizer. The lab serves the rest of the
agency’s divisions and programs as well as the citizens of Kansas by providing
accurate and timely test results. The lab conducts tests regarding food and
feed safety, serving KDA’s mission to protect human and animal health, as well
as testing to verify label claims which helps to protect consumers from
economic fraud. The metrology lab provides a broad scope of mass and volume
calibration services.
The new
agricultural laboratory was designed specifically to meet the needs of the
program, so KDA can be more efficient in the lab’s day-to-day testing
activities as the agency works to meet specific program needs, and provides
room to grow for future agricultural testing needs. The lab employs chemists,
microbiologists and metrologists who work together to ensure that the quality
of the test results continues to meet nationally and internationally recognized
standards for traceability and legal defensibility.
Watch the virtual
open house video and read more about the features of the new KDA agricultural
laboratory at www.agriculture.ks.gov/AgLabOpenHouse.