Land O’Lakes on Wednesday opened the doors to its new, 55,000-square-foot crops research facility, called the WinField United Innovation Center.
 
The Arden Hills-based food cooperative said the site, located in River Falls, Wisconsin, is outfitted with state-of-the-art technology, including a wind tunnel to test a variety of products its WinField crop inputs subsidiary sells—herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, seed treatments, and plant nutrition and performance products.
 
“The research and testing performed here will enable more targeted applications of crop protection products, which benefits both applicators and farmers,” Chris Policinski, president and CEO of Land O’Lakes said in a statement.
 
Each year, Land O’Lakes dedicates $50 million toward research within its WinField division. Approximately $10 million of that will go specifically toward research efforts at its new Innovation Center, said Land O’Lakes spokeswoman Rebecca Lentz.
 
“Before we bring products to a farmer’s fields, we make sure they work in our fields first,” said Mike Vande Logt, executive vice president and chief operating officer at WinField United, in a statement. “We apply the latest best practices in our research approach and have backed our commitment with a significant monetary investment in our new center.”
 
The Innovation Center replaces Land O’Lakes previous facility in the area, a 6,000-square-foot product development and spray analysis center.
 
The new location, according to the Star Tribune, is expected to employ about 45 people. Altogether, Land O’Lakes employs more than 800 workers across 14 locations in Wisconsin.