This grant provides funding to North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) to add new and expanded testing services at its newly constructed 225,000-square-foot Agricultural Sciences Center (ASC). The total cost of the facility is $107 million, supported by $94 million in Connect NC bond funds and a $13 million appropriation from the General Assembly. The General Assembly provided an additional $10 million for costs of relocating labs to the ASC and for the outfitting and start-up of the center. NCDA&CS will consolidate five laboratories from four divisions in the ASC: Food and Drug Protection Division, Veterinary Diagnosis Laboratory Services, Standards Division, and Structural Pest Control and Pesticides Division. Golden LEAF funds will be used for equipment for the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, Standards Lab, Motor Fuels Lab, and the Food and Drug Protection Lab. All of the equipment purchased with Golden LEAF funding will allow NCDA&CS to provide new testing services or expand testing services currently available. The equipment will result in outcomes important to the agricultural industry in the state, including savings of between $1-$4 million for farmers by reducing the amount they spend on out-of-state lab services; testing of stored diesel and of hydraulic fluid and motor oil for farmers, reducing potential damage to farm equipment; increased testing of grain moisture meters at buying stations, ensuring farmers receive a fair price for their crop; increased diagnostic testing capacity of the veterinary lab; reduced turnaround time for analyses of feed and forage and of fertilizer; and, others.
