BELTSVILLE, MD – Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-5) delivered remarks at a ribbon cutting ceremony at Beltsville Agricultural Research Center for Building 306, which will provide space for the Bee Research Laboratory and Bovine Functional Genomics Laboratory. Building 306 was originally built in 1939, but had fallen into disrepair in recent years. With $14.6 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, BARC gutted and rehabilitated the lab building. It will be occupied by employees and equipment later this fall.  Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery:

“When it comes to cutting-edge research, much of the attention these days has focused on the information revolution. However, we forget that we are still far more dependent for survival on the technologies first developed during the
agricultural revolution. 

“Here in Beltsville, for over a century researchers have been taking those developments into the modern age, making breakthroughs that have affected billions of lives.  From the discovery of pesticides that spared our soldiers from tropical illnesses in World War II to the elimination of crop diseases that were costing farmers and consumers, the Research Center has made many important contributions to food safety, to our farming industry, and to science research.

“Today, researchers here are already tackling the agricultural challenges of the twenty-first century, including the dangerous decline in honeybee populations and helping dairy farmers increase the amount of milk produced by each
cow. 

“I was proud to be on hand when the Research Center celebrated its centennial in 2010, and I am excited to join you today as we reach back into the Center’s history and resurrect a building originally constructed in 1939 but that had
fallen into disrepair. In many ways, we are doing today what Beltsville researchers do all the time: taking something old and using it to plant new seeds.

“This building is also a wonderful example of the success of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It was ‘shovel-ready’ and received $14.6 million in Recovery Act funds. Now, it is helping to streamline operations in a way that
makes the Center run more economically and more efficiently. This will ensure that more dollars go directly to the important research that is strengthening our agricultural sector and enhancing food safety and nutrition.

“Here at Beltsville, we are witnessing the next agricultural revolution, and I look forward to hearing of the new discoveries that will emerge from this building in the years to come. Thank you.”