BOZEMAN – A groundbreaking event for a multi-use agricultural building off South 19th Avenue will be held Friday, May 24, hosted by the Montana Department of Livestock, Montana Department of Agriculture and Montana State University. 

The Combined State Laboratories groundbreaking will be held at 1 p.m. at the northwest corner of the intersection of 19th Avenue and Lincoln Street. The new, state building will house the Montana Department of Livestock’s Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, the Montana Department of Agriculture’s Analytical Lab and the MSU Wool Lab. 

The Veterinary Diagnostic Lab provides disease diagnostic support to veterinarians, agricultural producers, animal owners, wildlife managers and other state and federal agencies. It is an accredited veterinary laboratory that also supports public health by testing for zoonotic diseases and ensuring safety and health of milk, eggs and other animal products.

The Montana Department of Agriculture’s Analytical Lab provides analytical services and data to farmers, ranchers, researchers and the public. It serves programs focused on feed, fertilizer, pesticides, groundwater and more to establish guidelines and maintain environmental and agricultural quality. Producers may submit samples to the lab at any time for analysis.

The Wool Lab is currently housed on the MSU campus in its original building, which was built in 1947. MSU’s is the only university-associated wool lab in the nation, conducting research on wool quality and analysis for wool producers around the state and region to assist their profitability, processing around 10,000 wool samples per year. The Wool Lab is collaboratively managed by MSU’s Department of Animal and Range Sciences and MSU Extension.

The joint lab complex was made possible by appropriations made by the Montana Legislature during the 2021 and 2023 sessions as well as action by the Montana Board of Regents to provide university land for a joint, state-agency facility. The new facility replaces existing lab facilities, some of which were more than 70 years old. The MSU Wool Lab portion also includes private funds 

Speakers at the event will include Mike Honeycutt, executive director of the Montana Department of Livestock; Christy Clark, director of the Montana Department of Agriculture; and Sreekala Bajwa, MSU vice president for agriculture, dean of the College of Agriculture and director of the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station; and Montana Lieutenant Governor Kristen Juras; along with representatives from the Montana Board of Livestock and the Montana Wool Growers Association.