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Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC), established in 1904 and based in Beltsville, Maryland, is an agricultural research organization that is operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The center conducts research on natural resources, crops, livestock, poultry, and nutrition. Sections of the 6,600 acres that BARC manages are open to the public. The property includes fields, pastures, orchards, and forests, as well as animal facilities, administrative buildings, greenhouses, laboratories, and a small number of employee housing units. BARC hosts the Plant Science Institute, Livestock and Poultry Science Institute, Natural Resources Institute, and Beltsville Nutrition Research Center onsite research programs. The organization also hosts research groups from the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Justice, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the University of Maryland. BARC maintains chemical storage areas. It also includes a burial site that holds material contaminated with low-levels of radiation. At one time, BARC encompassed 12,000 acres of property. Portions of that property have been transferred to the control of other U.S. government agencies.
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