Agricultural Sciences Center named for longtime Ag Commissioner Steve Troxler

RALEIGH – Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler was recently honored by the N.C. General Assembly and Governor Roy Cooper by the passage and signing of HB 137 that named the new Agricultural Sciences Center in Raleigh the Steve Troxler Agricultural Sciences Center.

“This is the largest building project ever undertaken by the department and will provide services that benefit every citizen of our state,” Troxler said. “While I am honored that this building bears my name, I am equally thankful for the work of many staff members of the department in designing a building that not only meets the current needs of our laboratory employees but also will meet future needs as our state and agricultural industry continues to grow.”

The Steve Troxler Agricultural Sciences Center will contain offices and labs that perform tests for four of the department’s divisions: Food and Drug Protection, Standards, Structural Pest Control and Pesticides, and Veterinary. Services will include fuel quality testing, animal disease diagnostic testing, necropsy services for livestock and companion animals, weights and measures calibration, antifreeze testing and more. The lab will also serve as the state’s primary lab for testing food products for E. coli, salmonella, listeria, pesticide residue and other pathogens. The building will replace four labs whose average age is more than 40 years. The 225,000-square-foot Center will house more disciplines of science than any other state laboratory in the country and will  house about 200 employees. The building is expected to open this summer.

For more information on the Steve Troxler Agricultural Sciences Center visit http://www.ncagr.gov/AgSciencesCenter.htm.