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. The ARS Headquarters is located in the Jamie L. Whitten Building on Independence Avenue in Washington, D.C. and the headquarters staff is located at the George Washington Carver Center (GWCC) in Beltsville, Maryland. For 2018, its budget was $1.2 billion. Mission ARS conducts scientific research for the American public. Their main focus is on research to develop solutions to agricultural problems and provide information access and dissemination 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, and provide economic opportunities to rural citizens, communities, and society as a whole. ARS research complements the work of state colleges and universities, agricultural experiment stations, other federal and state agencies, and the private sector. ARS research may often focus on regional issues that have national implications, and where there is a clear federal role. ARS also provides information on its research results to USDA action and regulatory agencies and to several other federal regulatory agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. ARS disseminates much of its research results through scientific journals, technical publications, Agricultural Research magazine, and other forums. Information is also distributed through ARS's National Agricultural Library (NAL). ARS has more than 150 librarians and other information specialists who work at two NAL locations—the Abraham Lincoln Building in Beltsville, Maryland; and the DC Reference Center in Washington, D.C. NAL provides reference and information services, document delivery, interlibrary loan and interlibrary borrowing services to a variety of audiences. History Prior to the inception of ARS, agricultural research was first conducted under the umbrella of the Agricultural Department in the U.S. Patent Office in 1839. It was created to collect statistics, distribute seeds and compile and distribute pertinent information. In 1862 the USDA was created and agricultural research was moved to its department. That same