The Delta Research and Extension Center is the largest of Mississippi State University's off-campus agricultural research sites. Covering 4,600 acres, the DREC focuses its research on catfish, corn, cotton, rice and soybeans. The major goal of the DREC is to increase yields of commercial agriculture and aquaculture production while at the same time preserve the Delta's environment and natural resources. The DREC includes a staff of 30 researchers and over a hundred support personnel. Physical facilities include laboratories, offices, greenhouses and a comprehensive library, as well as 200 catfish ponds, 1,200 acres for row crop research and close to 3,000 acres of Delta Experimental Forest. Some of the most important agricultural research facilities in the world are in Stoneville. Influential agencies at the Delta Branch include the DREC, Mississippi State's College of Veterinary Medicine, the Thad Cochran National Warmwater Aquaculture Center, the Southern Regional Aquaculture Center, Mississippi State Extension Service's Northwest District Program Area, Delta Council, Delta Wildlife, Delta F.A.R.M., Delta Health Alliance, Memphis Grain Inspection and the Yazoo-Mississippi Water Management District (YMD). Federal agencies include the USDA ARS Jamie Whitten Research Center, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services, the USDA Cotton Ginning Lab, the U.S. Forest Service Center for Bottomland Hardwood Research and the USDA National Biological Control Lab.