Photo by Deb Gau Research farm manager Melissa VanWesten prepares a sample of of grain for testing at the mycotoxin lab at the Jon Knochenmus Center for Innovatio

MARSHALL — When Ralco broke ground for a new research farm near Marshall in 2020, company leaders said the site would be a place to make new discoveries.

Two years later, the Jon Knochenmus Center for Innovation is making the vision a reality.

In October, Ralco announced that the Center for Innovation is now fully operational and conducting its first research studies. The 13.6-acre farm site now includes both swine and poultry research barns, laboratories and more, Ralco employees said during a tour of the facilities last week.

“The Innovation Center serves as a pilot lab for us,” said research farm manager Melissa VanWesten. “We’re able to discover new products in smaller studies before they go onto our bigger research facilities and university experiments.”

The Jon Knochenmus Center for Innovation’s mission is centered on innovation and discovery, said Diane Wagner, vice president of innovation at Ralco.

“We look at it as even going beyond the products we provide,” Wagner said. In addition to researching and developing new products, the Center for Innovation can look for solutions to challenges that Ralco customers face.

The Center for Innovation is also a fitting legacy for Ralco president emeritus Jon Knochenmus, Ralco employees said. Knochenmus, who died Nov. 19 at the age of 67, was known for always trying to find a better way to do things.

“He truly was our inspiration for innovation,” Wagner said. “We’ve been blessed to have strong leadership,” both from Jon Knochenmus and current Ralco President and CEO Brian Knochenmus, she said.

The center has already started conducting studies at its two research barns, VanWesten said. The swine barn holds 120 nursery pigs in 24 pens, and the poultry barn has 22 floor pens and two experimental rooms for pilot studies.

VanWesten said the research barns make it faster to get research data, and allow for a more controlled study environment. The pigs in the swine barn are hand-fed and weighed individually, she said.

The former farmhouse at the site now includes a conference center and laboratories for conducting research, as well as providing testing services for Ralco customers. In the ruminant lab, special equipment simulates digestion in the rumen, the first of a cow’s four stomachs, VanWesten said. This allows researchers to to see how well different kinds of feed are digested. Better digestion helps farmers get the most out of their animal feed, she said.

Another exciting part of the ruminant lab is a radio frequency gas production system, VanWesten said. The gas production system allows researchers to measure the amount and type of gases produced by artificial rumens. In the future, the lab will be able to test for methane, to see what products help decrease greenhouse gas emissions, VanWesten said.

The labs also allow Ralco to offer services like mycotoxin testing for customers. Mycotoxins are substances produced by fungi or mold that can grow on grain. High amounts of the toxins can be harmful to animals if eaten, VanWesten said. The labs at the Center for Innovation allow Ralco to test samples of row crops for mycotoxins before the crops are used as animal feed.

The lab receives samples from Ralco customers all over the country for testing, she said.

The research at the Center for Innovation doesn’t only focus on livestock, VanWesten said. There’s also space for crop research — and even a vineyard. VanWesten said Ralco’s Agnition line of products focuses a lot on row crops, but the company is also studying high value crops like grapes.

Wagner said Ralco will also continue to work together with Southwest Minnesota State University, which has research plots nearby.

“It’s been exciting, knowing all the work that went into it, to finally see it come together,” VanWesten said of developments at the Center for Innovation.

In Ralco’s announcement, Wagner said she was also excited about the future of the center after spearheading its development.

“2022 was our year of investment and 2023 is our year of efficiency,” Wagner said. “Now we want to conduct more studies in our barns, sharpen our knowledge and skills and start capitalizing on those investments to help our customers succeed.”