Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center

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Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center
Beltsville Agricultural Research Center grounds.jpg
Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Maryland, map.jpg
Named after Henry A. Wallace   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Established1910  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg (113 years ago)
Types research institute   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Location Beltsville   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
CountryUnited States  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Coordinates 39°01′55″N76°53′04″W / 39.0319°N 76.8844°W / 39.0319; -76.8844 [1] [2] OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Parent organisations Agricultural Research Service   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC), also known as the National Agricultural Research Center, [3] is a unit of the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service. It is located in unincorporated Prince George's County, Maryland, [4] with sections within the Beltsville census-designated place. [5] [6] The BARC is named for Henry A. Wallace, former United States vice president and secretary of agriculture. BARC houses the Abraham Lincoln Building of the National Agricultural Library.

Contents

Among its research programs are Air Quality; Animal Health; Crop Production; Crop Protection and Quarantine; Food Animal Production; Food Safety; Global Change; Human Nutrition; Integrated Farming Systems; Manure and Byproduct Utilization; Methyl Bromide Alternatives; Plant Biological and Molecular Processes; Plant Diseases; Plant Genetic Resources, Genomics, and Genetic Improvement; Quality and Utilization of Agricultural Products; Rangeland, Pasture, and Forages; Soil Resource Management; Veterinary, Medical, and Urban Entomology; and Water Quality and Management.

Administration Building Beltsville Agricultural Research Center 2018c (cropped).jpg
Administration Building
View of the campus from the National Agricultural Library Beltsville Agricultural Research Center 2018b.jpg
View of the campus from the National Agricultural Library

The center's Harvest for the Hungry program donates about 75,000 pounds (34 metric tons) of fruits and vegetables each year for distribution to local charities, in conjunction with volunteers from the community who do much of the labor of harvesting.

Each February, BARC hosts the Washington's Birthday Marathon, the eighth oldest marathon in the United States.

During the tornado outbreak of September 24, 2001, the BARC facilities sustained extensive damage as the result of an F3 tornado. [7]

The center is also referenced in local folklore as the creation place of Goatman (urban legend), claiming that Goatman was once a scientist who worked at the center before an experiment on goats backfired and mutated the scientist into a half man, half goat creature who aggressively attacks cars in the vicinity of Beltsville. [8]

See also

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References

  1. Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
  2. Geographic Names Information System, GNIS ID 1714304, Wikidata   Q136736 , retrieved 8 March 2020
  3. "National Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, Maryland. 1937. General statement and description (pictures and text) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture 16,000 acre-farm." U.S. Library of Congress. Retrieved on September 2, 2018.
  4. "Beltsville Agricultural Research Center: Beltsville, MD." U.S. Department of Agriculture. Retrieved on September 2, 2018. "10300 Baltimore Avenue Bldg. 003, Rm. 231, BARC-West Beltsville, MD 20705"
  5. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Beltsville CDP, MD." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on January 31, 2018. Pages: 1, 2, 3
  6. "Census Incorporated Places & Census Designated Places." Prince George's County. As of August 24, 2003. Retrieved on September 2, 2018. This map shows that sections of the BARC are outside of the Beltsville CDP.
  7. USDA research center severely damaged in tornado. (press release) United States Department of Agriculture, September 25, 2001. Retrieved on 2008-12-22.
  8. Aratani, Lori (October 26, 2008). "The Keeper of Local Haunted Lore". The Washington Post. Retrieved 31 August 2011.