The grand opening for the newly expanded Minnesota Poultry Testing Laboratory at Willmar will be held tomorrow. The facility grew in space from around 3,700 square feet to 11,900 square feet. Minnesota Turkey Grower’s Executive Director Steve Olson says last year’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza led to the upgrade.
He says with the upgrade, disease response will be quicker and more effective.
Olson says it’s these types of projects that allow Minnesota to remain the number one turkey producing state in the nation.
The expansion project was fully funded by the Minnesota legislature at $8.5 million. The more than 37,00 poultry farms in Minnesota generate more than $1.2 billion in annual economic impact.
