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ARS - Beltsville Area

Laboratory Information:

ARS - Beltsville Area
Building 003, Room 208
BARC-West
10300 Baltimore Blvd.
Beltsville, MD 20705-2350
Website: http://www.ba.ars.usda.gov/
Technology Transfer Website: http://www.ba.ars.usda.gov/business/
Agency/Department: Dept. of Agriculture
Region: Mid-Atlantic

FLC Laboratory Representative:

James Poulos
Phone: (301) 504-6421
Fax: (301) 504-6001
Email: jim.poulos@ars.usda.gov

Background/History of the Laboratory:

The Beltsville Area of ARS is among the largest and most diversified agricultural research complexes in the world and consists of three primary organizational units: the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC); the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center in Maryland; and the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. The BARC began in 1910 when the U.S. Department of Agriculture purchased a 475-acre farm about 15 miles northeast of Washington, D.C. to conduct research on animal husbandry, dairying, and animal diseases. Today, work is carried out in about 800 buildings, research laboratories, greenhouses, barns, poultry houses, shops, and offices. More than 7,000 acres of land are used for these research activities.

Mission of the Laboratory:

The Beltsville Area consists of ARS programs at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Beltsville, Md.; the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington D.C.; and worksites in Chatsworth, N.J.; Presque Isle, Maine; and McMinnville, Tenn. BARC is the largest and most diversified agricultural research complex in the world. Beltsville's record of accomplishments and ongoing programs has made it a world leader in agriculture research. Its international reputation attracts thousands of visitors each year from the United States and abroad.

ARS conducts research to develop and transfer solutions to agricultural problems of high national priority and provide information access and dissemination in order to:
  • Ensure high-quality safe food and other agricultural products;
  • Assess the nutritional needs of Americans;
  • Sustain a competitive agricultural economy;
  • Enhance the natural resource base and the environment;
  • Provide economic opportunities for rural citizens, communities, and society as a whole.
Research in the Beltsville Area addresses all of these goals through programs in the Plant Sciences Institute, the Animal and Natural Resources Institute, the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, and the U.S. National Arboretum.

Technology Transfer Mechanisms:

  • Non-Funded Cooperative Agreement (NFCA)
  • Confidentiality Agreements
  • Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs)
  • Material Transfer Agreements
  • Patents and Licensing
  • Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement (RCA)
  • Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR)
  • Trust Fund Cooperative Agreement (TFCA)

Technology Areas of Expertise:

  • Air Quality
  • Animal health
  • Soil Resource Management
  • Veterinary, Medical and Urban Entomology
  • Water Resource Management
  • Food Animal Production
  • Food Safety, (animal and plant products)
  • Global Change
  • Human Nutrition
  • Crop Production
  • Crop Protection & Quarantine
  • 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

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