The Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) was established in 1874 and is the oldest state department of agriculture in the United States. The GDA helps farmers, consumers, and businesses. We regulate animals, food, fuel, plants, soil, and pesticides produced or sold within the State of Georgia. Together with GDA's licensing and inspection programs, the GDA regulatory laboratories protect consumers by ensuring their food, fuel, seed, fertilizer, pesticides, and feed meet the highest quality standards. GDA operates two state regulatory laboratories located in Atlanta and Tifton, Georgia. The labs support regulatory actions by testing seed, feed, fuel, fertilizer, food, dairy products and pesticides, and calibrating devices which measure weight and volume. The different locations offer different services based on the industries they serve. As a regulatory entity, GDA’s facilities are self-policing with most of the labs using BSL-2 facility, engineering, and biosafety practices. GDA’s regulatory lab in downtown Atlanta was initially constructed in the 1950s, and the lab functions were relocated to a leased facility in September 2024 as part of a redevelopment effort. The lab lease expires in September 2028, and GDA’s new laboratory will need to be open for business before the lease expires. GDA is constructing a new, purpose-built lab facility from the ground up to achieve the following: • Proper support for each lab program for the next 30-50 years. • Adequate space for the current specific needs of each lab section. • Flexibility to grow as programmatic needs change over time. • Security for all testing areas and samples. • Proper space for specialty testing.
