USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Maryland

Known as APHIS Building 580, this complex of greenhouses and lab buildings is one of dozens of unusual sites scattered around the 7,000 acres of the US Department of Agriculture’s Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. APHIS Building 580 is an isolated location for the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the part of the USDA that is responsible for protecting plants and animals from invasive pests and diseases. APHIS has a budget of around $800 million, and has around 7,000 employees, 5,000 of which are deployed as inspectors at the ports and borders of the US, and on farms.