Carvel Research and Education Center
Welcome
UD's 347-acre Agriculture Research Experimental Station and Sussex Cooperative Extension
Poultry Health
Agronomic Crop Tour 2024
Research + Extension
Sharing the latest research with our community
Crop Research
Creating Partnerships
Reaching across programs and institutions for efficient solutions
The Elbert N. and Ann V. Carvel Research and Education Center
The Carvel Center campus, located in Georgetown in Sussex County, fulfills the tripartite mission of our land-grant university — teaching, research and Extension outreach. The Carvel Center serves as the southern agriculture experiment station for the University of Delaware College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and encompasses the Thurman Adams Jr. Agriculture Research Farm (347 acres) with a focus on agronomic, vegetable and horticulture crops, the Warrington Irrigation Research Farm (120 acres) in Harbeson, Lasher Laboratory for poultry diagnostics, and the Jones Hamilton Environmental Research House. Our campus is also home to Sussex County Cooperative Extension providing programing in 4-H Youth Development, Poultry, Family and Consumer Sciences, and Lawn and Garden.
With an overall staff of 50 full-time administrators, agents, faculty, and specialists, assisted by 50 to 70 seasonal part-time employees and student interns, the Carvel Center paves the way in serving the needs of the agricultural industry, youth and families, students and residents of our great state. Learn more about our history.
Our research and educational facilities
Advancing agriculture in the first state
Article by Molly Schafer Photos by Michele Walfred and courtesy of the Delaware Department of Agriculture March 04, 2025
Mark Isaacs, long-time director of Carvel Research and Education Center, concludes a UD career filled with impact
This month, after 38 years at UD, Isaacs will retire from his dual roles as director of the Elbert N. and Ann V. Carvel Research and Education Center in Georgetown and associate professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.
Isaacs is equally known and appreciated for his ability to create partnerships with county, state, industry and private partners and for his role as a career coach for students in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR).
Montage of Extension Staff in Action in Delaware: youtube.com/watch?v=UHPYhBIWRj0
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Electric Farm Vehicles: A Glimpse of the Future or Today’s Reality?
April 24, 2025 | Written by: Kofi Britwum – Assistant Professor of Farm Management (britwum@udel.edu), Photos by: Jackie CzachorowskiFrom the development of rudimentary tools to today’s cutting-edge machinery, technological innovation in agriculture has steadily improved the efficiency of food and livestock production. Tools such as reapers, sickles, animal-drawn plows, seed drills, threshing machines, and a host of others from the early ages helped transform farming practices, with newer technology evolving from earlier ones or ideas. Even though tractors have come to symbolize mechanized agriculture, more advanced equipment, such as combines, has been part of the agricultural landscape over the past two centuries, further pushing the frontiers of what is possible on the farm. -
Identifying salt patches and marsh
April 24, 2025 | Article by Adam Thomas Photos courtesy of Manan SarupriaSalty soils are causing reduced crop density, lower yields and barren lands unable to sustain crop growth. Sea level rise, intense storm surges and the overextraction of groundwater are driving this increasing salinity in coastal farmlands throughout the Delmarva region. -
April is Volunteer Appreciation Month! A look back at our 2024 Master Gardeners.
April 22, 2025 | Written by: Michele Walfred and Jackie CzachorowskiVolunteerism is the driving force in many Delaware Cooperative Extension programs, and the Master Gardener volunteer impact is keenly felt across Delaware, a visible presence at schools, libraries, attending public events, holding workshops, and answering online questions and helplines. Kent County boasts 37 active volunteers, Sussex County has 79, and 100 in New Castle County.
Upcoming Events
History of the Agriculture Research Center in Georgetown
A Delaware General Assembly act provided the establishment of an agricultural substation for southern Delaware. The first structure at the new "Substation" opened in 1942, which is still in use — now as storage space.
A more thorough, published history written by former Extension specialist and former Delaware Secretary of Agriculture, Ed Kee, is now available in the fall of 2019.