A Letter To The Community and The Department of Agriculture

The Department of Agriculture’s plan to dismantle the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) would destroy the mission of the Department of Agriculture.  BARC has been leading research into improving what we eat since 1910.  Moving BARC would not save money.  It would be very costly to relocate the many complicated research projects currently underway.  It would set back important research and would harm our Country’s farmers, our food source.  Contrary to the Department’s assertations, the cost of living in not high in Prince George’s County where BARC is located.  Please do not destroy what has taken so many years to develop and continues to improve the lives of so many people.

My Father, Robert N Stewart, worked at BARC.  He developed the poinsettia from a delicate wild plant into the sturdy, long lived plants you enjoy everywhere at Christmas. If he would have been forced to move his research in the middle, it would have set his research back many years.   He created a business that currently generates approximately $250 million in retail sales annually.  Most poinsettias are grown domestically.  My cousin who owned a nursery said he was able to keep his employees year-round instead of as seasonal workers because of the poinsettia business.  This is just one small example of how BARC has improved lives.  

Maren Mayhew