ABOUT ACRE
The Agronomy Center for Research & Education is utilized by over 80 researchers from eleven departments, conducting approximately 180 research projects yearly. This 1,600 acre farm facility is located seven miles northwest of campus. A farm manager and three technicians are employed full-time with seasonal and student labor as needed.
From left to right: Farm Manager Rachel Stevens, Farm Technicians Aaron Kult, Bryan Gretencord and Evan Bossung
Studies at ACRE range from basic to applied research including: plant breeding and genetics, crop production and soil tillage management, plant physiology, soil fertility, weed control, disease and insect resistance and control, and performance evaluation for ag technologies and digital agriculture.
Currently, cooperating departments doing field research include:
Facilities at ACRE
There are a number of specific facilities at ACRE representing a variety of research and educational focuses.Opened in 2007, the Beck Agricultural Center is an ideal location for hosting educational and agricultural related events, training sessions and board meetings. The facility has five distinct meeting areas, plenty of free, on-site parking, and is located five miles northwest of the Purdue University campus.
Opened in 2016 to experiment with new ways to collect plant trait data and automate seed processing.
A semi-permanent facility designed to conduct research on the tradeoffs between crop productivity and air quality as influenced by crop rotation/system and nutrient (especially N) management.
Established in 2003, the Peterson Prairie plots are symbolically placed at the prairie point. The prairie point is the place where the Grand Prairie from the west met the Great Hardwood Forest from the east. The plots were named in honor of Dr. J.B. Peterson, Agronomy Department Head in 1949, who purchased this farm for agronomic research.