University Farm Grows to Largest Size Ever with Land Purchases

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Dec. 18, 2025) — North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s farm will expand by nearly 90 acres to its largest size in its 124-year history thanks to several recent purchases of adjacent land.

“For the university to be able to expand with a land purchase, particularly farmland, in an urban area as densely populated as Greensboro is nothing short of amazing,” said Jerome Harper director of real property for the university. “It’s rare to find this much available land within the city limits.”

N.C. A&T has acquired 18.39 acres at 3321 Old McConnell Loop for $1.13 million, Harper said. In November, the university finalized the purchase of 52.44 acres, at 751 JFH Dairy Road, for $2.1 million. That purchase comes as an addition to the 17.47 acres at 3321 McConnell Loop bought by the university in October for $1.05 million.

The three parcels will boost the university’s farm from its current 492 acres to nearly 581 acres. Funding for the acquisitions was provided by Title III education grant funds.

“We are thrilled to be able to add this land to our University Farm and continue to expand our land-grant mission of research, teaching and outreach,” said Radiah C. Minor, interim dean of the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, of which the farm is a part. “North Carolina is one of the nation’s top agricultural states, and as the ‘A’ in A&T, our college looks forward to growing our animal and horticultural offerings to support this industry.”

Although the land has been farmed in the past, it will take some time to restore it to viable agricultural production, said Daniel Cooper, the farm’s superintendent. One possible use for the land may be as pastureland for the beef cattle herd currently located closer to Gateway Research Park’s South Campus.

“We have a lot of options for the land,” said Cooper. “The process of clearing it, running soil tests and amending the soil for viable agricultural production will take some time, however.”

Established in 1901, shortly after the university’s founding in 1891, the farm is comprised of seven animal units, two horticultural research areas and more than 20 sponsored research projects which support the college’s $40 million research portfolio, one of the largest at the university.

The farm, which supports research, teaching and outreach to the community through Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T, moved from campus onto a larger site on East Market Street in 1931 and to its current location on McConnell Road in in the mid-1950s.