Research Farms

The Agronomy and Horticulture Research Farms are located approximately 10 miles southwest of University Park at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center. Plant Science, Plant Pathology, and Entomology are the major departments involved at these facilities which also is the site of the annual College of Agriculture's Ag Progress Days. Several other departments within the College of Agricultural Sciences as well as other colleges at Penn State cooperate in the work done at the Research Center. The land for this center was purchased starting in the late 1950s and has now grown to over 2100 acres.

Approximately 16 faculty members are involved in research tests each year at the farms, with more than one-half of these faculty utilizing the farms for a major portion of their research. A farm committee serves in an advisory capacity. The role of the farm staff is to provide assistance to the project leaders. Land preparation (plowing, fertilization, herbicides, etc.) and maintenance (cultivation, spraying, etc.) are done by the farm staff. Direct research treatments are made by the researcher or by a farm crew member under the direct guidance of the faculty member.