The Stony Brook Business Incubator at Calverton has begun construction on a new 8,300 square foot food-processing expansion to their facility, according to officials at the complex.

The new Agriculture Consumer Science Center will include shared space for farmers and residents to use commercial tools to package and process local agricultural goods for retail markets, said Monique Gablenz, manager of the Incubator.

The expansion will be rented to businesses on an hourly basis in four hour blocks once completed, she said. The expansion is expected to be completed by June 2012.

Gablenz said the facility will allow local farmers and residents to "test the waters and gauge interest in their product" using small-scale production equipment. She also stressed that the facility will be open for any to rent.

"It's not just farmers who can use it, but any person trying to create commercial products," Gablenz said.

Gablenz said she has already received interest in the project after conducting a survey of local farmers to see how many would use the expansion. The Long Island Farm Bureau could not be reached for comment.

An official groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for Oct. 24 at 10:30 a.m., Gablenz said.