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
Our facility continues the strong tradition of serving our agricultural clientele and their families as well as the citizens of Delaware.
Carvel REC director
Upcoming Events
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO AGRICULTURE
Delaware Secretary of Agriculture Michael T. Scuse surprised Dr. Mark Isaacs with the Secretary’s Award for Distinguished Service to Agriculture during the State Fair Awards presentation on Governor’s Day...
“I am incredibly honored and humbled to receive this Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award from Secretary Scuse. As a fourth-generation Delaware farmer, Director of the UD Carvel Research and Education Center, and Department of Plant and Soil Sciences faculty member, my roots run deep for the love of Delaware agriculture,” said Mark Isaacs.
Read all about Mark Isaacs' award on the Delaware Department of Agriculture website.
Montage of Extension Staff in Action in Delaware: youtube.com/watch?v=UHPYhBIWRj0
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Q&A with Emmalea Ernest
February 25, 2025 | Written by: Diane StopyraEmmalea Ernest wants you to eat more veggies. Or, at least, more kinds of veggies. As an assistant professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences and the Cooperative Extension fruit and vegetable specialist, she’s working to bring crops to Delaware that aren’t typically grown in First State soil. Below, she spills the (fava) beans on her work. -
Tariffs in the Spotlight: History, Impact, and Agricultural Ripples
February 21, 2025 | Written by: Kofi Britwum – Assistant Professor of Farm Management (britwum@udel.edu)Tariffs are making news headlines again! Some are already in place for goods entering the United States from countries such as China, while others will soon take effect. This latest wave has unsurprisingly sparked considerable political and public debate, partly because they are being used as leverage to advance non-trade objectives in some instances and partly due to their targeting key allies and neighbors. -
IPM for the Summer – Value of Keeping Records
February 19, 2025 | Written by: Brian Kunkel, Ornamentals IPM SpecialistIntegrated pest management is a strategy to use a variety of common practices to maintain pest pressure or populations below levels considered damaging to plants or causing economic loss.
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.