Logo of the Agricultural Research Service
|
|
Agency overview | |
---|---|
Formed | November 2, 1953 |
Jurisdiction | United States federal government |
Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
Employees | approx. 2,700 employees |
Annual budget | $1.1 billion (FY14) |
Agency executive |
|
Parent agency | United States Department of Agriculture |
Website | www.ars.usda.gov |
Footnotes | |
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the principal in-house research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). ARS is one of four agencies in USDA's Research, Education and Economics mission area. ARS is charged with extending the nation's scientific knowledge and solving agricultural problems through its four national program areas: nutrition, food safety and quality; animal production and protection; natural resources and sustainable agricultural systems; and crop production and protection. ARS research focuses on solving problems affecting Americans every day.
ARS has more than 2,200 permanent scientists working on approximately 1,100 research projects at more than 100 locations across the country, with a few locations in other countries. ARS has four regional research centers: the Western Regional Research Center (WRRC) in Albany, California; the Southern Regional Research Center (SRRC) in New Orleans, Louisiana; the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR) in Peoria, Illinois; and the Eastern Regional Research Center (ERRC) in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania. Innovation and commercialization are the heart of these facilities (equipped with pilot plants for commercial-type research), which have given life to hundreds of products, processes and technologies. ARS's Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) in Beltsville, Maryland, is the world's largest agricultural research complex. ARS operates the U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory in Fort Pierce, Florida, and the U.S. National Poultry Research Center in Athens, Georgia.