Originally established by the FACT Act 1990 as the Applied Agricultural Research Commercialization Center, the purpose of the AARCC is to assist in the research, development, and commercialization of new nonfood products from agricultural and forestry commodities. AARC makes repayable equity investments, such as buying stock or taking a percentage of future sales (royalties), or both. The FAIR Act of 1996 changed the centre from a government agency to a wholly-owned venture capital corporation of USDA.