Dedicated in 1966, the building was named for Joe Marshall, a potato farmer in Southern Idaho, who for 40 years fought to make the Idaho Potato what it is today.
The center has about 12,000 sq. ft. on two floors. The lower level, a partial basement, contains growth chambers, refrigerated storage, preparation rooms and storage areas. The main floor of the research center is a series of laboratories equipped for many different kinds of research in food technology and biochemistry, plant physiology, pathology, entomology and plant nutrition.