The National Animal Disease Center (NADC) is a major U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) center for research on livestock and poultry diseases. The USDA relies on the NADC to help fulfill its mission of enhancing the quality of life for the American people by ensuring a safe, affordable, nutritious, and accessible food supply.
The 270 employees of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) research animal diseases at the NADC's 80-building, 450,000-sq-ft center located in Ames, IA. Opened in 1961, the center has about 250,000 sq ft of building devoted to housing animals, with offices taking up most of the remaining space.