Welcome to the Northern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center
The Northern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center (NPAREC) has provided a place in the northern piedmont region of Virginia where project leaders can find uniform land with the right climate for their research needs, and watchful, caring personnel to assist with the conduct of projects that fit into the goals of Virginia Tech, a land-grant university. It has provided a place to conduct field research with assurance of controlled variability by careful placement of studies on the land, by adjusting the placement of replications to assure uniformity in the soil-site, and by protecting the land and crop for the most accurate results possible. The specialty of the Northern Piedmont AREC is best to utilize land that is typical of the undulating piedmont landscape.
The purpose of the Northern Piedmont AREC is to conduct research and Extension programs on forage and field crops and soils. Research includes variety testing of corn, soybeans, wheat, barley, sorghum, canola and new crops; warm-season and cool-season perennial grass evaluation and maintenance; forages; soil fertility; soil erosion; and soil management.
The Northern Piedmont AREC has given Virginians (particularly those within 50 miles) the opportunity to observe both university recommendations as well as comparisons to those recommendations. Since it was established in 1940, the Northern Piedmont AREC has enabled farmers to avoid varieties or management that research has shown will not work in this region although they may do very well in another region or state.
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