The Residue Laboratory has two primary missions. The first is to test milk samples from all dairies, each year for the presence of pesticide residues.

The second mission is to analyze food products for toxins, poisons, metals, and pesticide residues under a cooperative grant from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as part of the Food Emergency Response Network (FERN), a national network of federal, state, and local food testing laboratories tasked with food defense and food safety.