Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center

Established in 1914, the Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center (AREC) – located on 465 acres in Suffolk, Virginia – continues to drive innovation and shape the future of agriculture both regionally and beyond. With eight specialized programs, the center is on track to achieve its fourth consecutive year of growth in research projects, research expenditures, enrolled graduate students, and number of publications released to the commonwealth’s stakeholders.

Explore program highlights below and join us this summer on June 27 for Tidewater AREC’s virtual Seminar Series for an informative session covering details of their research and extension work. The Tidewater AREC will also host an inaugural Corn and Soybean Twilight Tour on July 23 highlighting corn irrigation, herbicide injury, soybean nutrition, entomology, and plant pathology updates.

  1. With soybeans ranking highest among crop commodities grown in the commonwealth, the Soybean Agronomy program conducts applied research to investigate current limitations in Virginia soybean production as well as potential future solutions to support the success of the state’s soybean farmers.
  2. Focused on arthropod pest management in soybean, cotton, peanut, corn, and small grains, the Field Crops Entomology program provides resources to keep farmers informed of local developments, such as the latest 2025 Pest Management Guide. Growers and stakeholders can visit the Virginia Ag Pest and Crop Advisory blog for timely and relevant information about local developments and best management practices.
  3. The Precision Agriculture and Data Management program, led by Abhilash Chandel, has developed a free interactive webtool – Agroclimate Viewer & Planner App – designed to help users monitor, forecast, and analyze agroclimatic conditions for their croplands.
  4. The Plant Pathology program gives practical, deployable disease and nematode management strategies for the successful production of corn, cotton, peanuts, and soybeans. To deliver timely information to commonwealth stakeholders their team provides services through the Peanut Cotton InfoNet, the Nematode Diagnostic Lab, and the Plant Diagnostic Clinic.
  5. A Field Day event was recently held on March 21, highlighting the Field Crops Agronomy research program with a Soil Fertility Workshop and Cover Crop Field Tour. The tour covered topics including row crops, soil fertility, and plant nutrition. VT News recently featured Ph.D. student C. Brandt Tate’s research about the use of drones and algorithms to optimize nitrogen fertilizer applications for cotton growers.
  6. The overall goal of the Crop Physiology program is to improve production systems’ sustainability in Virginia and the mid-Atlantic region. In addition to research focused on the phenomics of the peanut, Professor Maria Balota is piloting a $2.7 million multistate research project to introduce the protein rich faba bean as a sustainable fall and winter crop. A video produced by the Virginia Farm Bureau explains more.
  7. With production test sites in Virginia and North Carolina, the Peanut Variety and Quality Evaluation program evaluates new cultivars and breeding lines of the Virginia market-type peanut for agronomic production, processing, and food chemistry characteristics. For local farms, this program aims to maintain agricultural profitability with selection of high-yielding, efficient varieties of peanut and sorghum, and to educate growers on peanut maturity and optimum harvest order and time.
  8. The Swine Physiology program has served as a base for research with emphasis on reproductive physiology, breeding herd management, and welfare. The program at the Tidewater AREC is phasing out as the new Swine Center at Kentland Farm in Blacksburg now houses a swine production and research facility.