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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New Castle County honors 2024’s Master Gardener volunteer service
April 09, 2025 | Written by: Michele Walfred, Communications SpecialistNew Castle County wasted little time celebrating National Volunteer Month by paying homage to outstanding service in 2024 from its 110-member volunteer force of master gardeners, many of whom attended a recognition event on April 2 at the New Castle County Extension offices in Newark. -
How Volunteering Can Benefit You and Others
April 07, 2025 | Written by: Kaitlin Rogers, 4-H Youth Development Extension EducatorDid you know that volunteering is valuable not only for the communities served but also for the people who do it for many reasons? Volunteering is a two-way street; while it provides obvious benefits to others, it also offers personal rewards and growth to those who give their time and efforts. Volunteering with the 4-H organization is both important and impactful because it provides opportunities to shape the next generation of leaders, innovators, and engaged citizens. -
Delaware chicken farms forced to ‘depopulate' amid avian influenza outbreak
April 03, 2025 | Written by Tim Furlong and Cherise Lynch | NBC10NBC10 interviews Georgie Cartanza, poultry extension agent for University of Delaware Cooperative Extension, about bird flu.
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.