Lancaster DHIA was approved as an independent organization by National DHIA in 1994. The same year, the board decided to research the possibility of building their own sample lab in Lancaster county. After researching, and touring labs in Vermont, Maryland, Tennessee and Ohio, the decision was made to proceed with the project, and the days of Lancaster DHIA as a truly independent organization had begun.

The lab was built in what had been a chicken house on the property of Jay Mylin in Manheim in Northern Lancaster DHIA. After researching equipment, and placing it on bids, the decision was made to purchase a Bentley 500 combi. In 1996, the growing interest in milk urea nitrogen analysis prompted the organization to purchase one of the first Bentley wet-chemistry MUN machines.

Growing volume made necessary the purchase of a second component machine, a Bentley 300 combi in late 2000. The lab is currently processing over 160,000 component samples per month, and 20,000 MUN samples.