N.C. A&T 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, according to Jerome Harper, director of real property for the university.
“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,” Harper said. “It’s rare to find this much available land within the city limits.”
The university 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.”
The farm is the latest area of N.C. A&T to achieve landmark growth. This fall, the university’s enrollment topped 15,000 students — a first for any Historically Black College and University.
The College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences’ enrollment also reached an all-time high of 1,271 students, buoyed by the university’s first double master’s degree pathway with Business Administration.
Although the land has been farmed in the past, it will take some time to restore it to viable agricultural production, according to 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 the Gateway Research Complex.
“We have a lot of options for the land,” Cooper said. “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 twenty sponsored research projects which support the college’s $40 million research portfolio, one of the largest at the university.
The farm is also home to the $15 million Urban and Community Farm Complex, set to open in spring 2026. This facility is designed to be a hub for local farmers and includes an advanced test kitchen, food processing areas, and a creamery that will sell "Aggie Ice Cream” next year, Minor said.
Milk for the ice cream will come from dairy’s Jersey cow herd, which produces milk that is naturally non-allergenic. The herd is milked by the Voluntary Milking System, installed in 2023, the only university-owned “milking robot” in the state.
N.C. A&T is the only HBCU in the nation to have a dairy.
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 the mid-1950s. It grew to more than 560 acres before the early 2000s, when seventy-one acres were leased to build Gateway Research Park on Gate City Boulevard.
These purchases will replace that land and allow the farm to grow with the university, Minor said.
“We can teach more students, conduct more research and provide hands-on experiences to more farmers, partners and community members,” she said. “We’re growing in our capacity to support out mission.”
