The National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR) is the largest of four U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) federal utilization centers and a world-class bioscience research facility. It is also designated as the lead facility for transferring USDA technology into use in the market place. NCAUR was established in 1940 in Peoria, IL, and has been immensely successful in carrying out its mission of conducting basic and applied research designed to generate new products, processes, and markets for US agricultural commodities.