WHERE CITY MEETS FARM
THE TRUE VALUE OF A LANDMARK FIELD LAB
BY SAM JONES
TOUCHETTE
ust five miles from downtown Raleigh and the North Carolina State University campus sits the Lake Wheeler Road Field Laboratory, a productive and diverse teaching farm that drivers passing by could easily miss. This 1,784-acre swath of farmland is actually one of the largest remaining open spaces near the city. >
PHOTO ESSAYS BY ALICE MANNING
As cranes dot the city’s skyline and orange cones line its roadways, dump trucks move root and earth to make way for more people. The Raleigh metro area grew 23% from 2010 to 2019, and the state as a whole had the third-highest in-migration in the United States in 2021.
According to data provided by Georgina Sanchez at the NC State Center for Geospatial Analytics, developed land in North Carolina has increased by 24% over the past two decades while agricultural land has decreased by 6%. In Wake County, the changes are much more drastic: 16% of Wake County’s agricultural land has been lost since 2001 with an additional 21% projected to be lost by 2050. Indeed, N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler has highlighted the loss of farmland as one of the state’s biggest issues.
NC State and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services own and operate thousands of acres across the state at 24 research stations, field labs and extension centers that act as conduits between university research and North Carolina’s agricultural community.
“It might look like empty fields to some people, but there is absolutely zero unused land at Lake Wheeler.”
Loren Fisher Director of Research Stations and Field Labs at NC StateAerial view of the 1,784 acres that make up the Lake Wheeler Road Field Lab.
The Lake Wheeler Road Field Lab is vital to NC State’s land-grant mission of teaching, research and extension. As developers look to acquire any available open land, protecting the Lake Wheeler farmland remains a top priority for NC State and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
“Because of its proximity to Raleigh, I get inquiries from people every month about this land,” says Steve Lommel, director of the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service. “I used to only get a few every year, so it has definitely increased lately. But the bottom line is that Lake Wheeler is not for sale. This land is absolutely essential.”
Lake Wheeler is one of the most diverse university farms in the country, according to Bridget Lassiter, the field lab’s superintendent. With over 20 research units, the farm’s diversity mirrors North Carolina’s multibillion-dollar agriculture industry. It also sets NC State apart; few land-grant universities have a farm so close to an urban campus.
The field lab acts as an outdoor classroom, integrating plant and animal science with engineering, sustainability and resource economics. The animal science department alone teaches over 1,700 students there every semester. >
Farm to Table to Farm
You may have heard of the farm-to-table movement, but for many of NC State’s dining halls, it’s farm to table to farm.
An average of 20,000 pounds of produce is grown each year at the Agroecology Education Farm. Here, students work closely with volunteers to cultivate one acre of land into indemand produce for 40 different dining locations on campus.
“The farm’s staff and volunteers work with NC State chefs to grow what they want: tomatoes, peppers, watermelon, summer squashes and cool-weather crops like greens, lettuces and root vegetables. The vegetables go to student dining halls, teaching kitchens and other locations on campus that need them.
In return, the dining facilities donate their food waste to the Lake Wheeler compost facility and research cooperative run by university Waste Reduction and Recycling.
That team works closely with the farm to create blends of compost materials that are specific to growing vegetables, especially those grown organically.
Using the compost is a win-win: The farm now enjoys increased yields and soil quality, while the dining service saves money it would otherwise have to spend to get rid of food waste.
“This land is absolutely essential.”
Steve Lommel Director, N.C. Agricultural Research Service
Biosecure Birds
Birds of a feather flock to NC State’s Prestage Department of Poultry Science, one of only six poultry science departments in the United States. The department’s long history of supporting poultry farmers, students and the industry include research and development of new biosecurity measures for the birds at the Poultry Education Units at Lake Wheeler.
“NC State is home to some of the world’s top poultry and animal agriculture experts and facilities,” said John Dole, CALS interim dean. “We deliver excellence in teaching, research and extension to meet the industry’s needs and grow our state. The birds couldn’t be in better hands.”
Current projects include research into poultry diseases and an investment to meet biosecurity level 2 requirements. In addition, construction of a biosecure mobile coop will make it possible to transport the turkeys and other birds for public viewing and educational outreach at events such as the North Carolina State Fair and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Farm Animal Days.
The field lab doesn’t just educate students. From the Sediment and Erosion Control Research Education Facility to the Pest Control Training Pavilion to countless training sessions on wastewater management, Lake Wheeler trains over 4,000 professionals every year. These professionals are essential for keeping North Carolinians and the environment safe and healthy.
Any open land that people might mistake for empty fields ripe for development is already taken up by hay, silage, grazing space and waste management areas for the field lab’s animals.
“It might look like empty fields to some people, but there is absolutely zero unused land at Lake Wheeler,” says Loren Fisher, director of research stations and field labs at NC State.
Lommel explains that if houses or office buildings were allowed to be developed on the farm, the site would be rendered non-compliant. As a result, for example, animal herds would need to be reduced or eliminated completely, diminishing NC State’s ability to provide animal research and teaching facilities for its students and faculty. >
More Room for Small Ruminant Research
The Lake Wheeler Road Field Lab will soon break ground on a $20 million investment for NC State’s Small Ruminant Unit, now housed along Trenton Road in Raleigh. The expansion and relocation to Lake Wheeler comes for a good reason.
“There’s great potential for a locally raised lamb and goat meat market,” says Andrew Weaver, NC State Extension specialist in small ruminants. “The United States produces less than half of the lamb that we consume in this country, with imports making up the deficit to meet demand. The potential for the domestic market is huge.”
Weaver’s research is directed toward improving production and management of small ruminants for meat production. One problem he’s helping to solve: parasites—one of the reasons sheep aren’t raised on a large scale in North Carolina.
“We want to learn and share how we combine genetic management with grazing practices, forages, feed for a systematic approach to parasites,” Weaver explains. “Combining multiple tools to combat parasites from different angles will ensure that the animals stay healthy and that production is sustainable.”
Weaver is also testing multispecies systems for livestock production— for example, adding sheep to existing cattle production systems.
“Land is not cheap, we’re stuck with what we’ve got, so we have to make it as productive as it can be,” says Weaver. “We can combine sheep and cattle … and not change anything about our production system. Then farmers will have a new set of animals generating income and make substantial improvements in profitability.”
“The fact is, we do teach thousands of students and professionals here. We do need that land for proper permitting of our facilities, and we need these facilities to train the next generation of farmers and ag students. We also do very important research here.”
Steve Lommel Director, N.C. Agricultural Research Service
The Scoop on Agritourism
Sitting on the porch at the Howling Cow Creamery, visitors take in a stunning view of the Lake Wheeler Road Field Lab property: rolling green hills, the famous Jersey cattle, red tin-roofed barns and the NC State dairy unit facilities.
“Good ice cream helps, but what really draws people in is this view from the Howling Cow Creamery,” says Alex Ives, dairy education coordinator at the Howling Cow Dairy Education Center and Creamery “It’s an escape. People watch their kids play on the lawn and visit with friends. They’re drawn to the natural aspect of what we offer.”
The Dairy Education Center was the first field lab research farm to invite the public into its space. Beyond getting a tour of the facilities and meeting the cattle up close, groups take in the Randleigh Dairy Heritage Museum, a unique agritourism experience for children and adults to learn how milk gets from the farm to the table—and into Howling Cow ice cream.
It started when William Rand Kenan Jr. bequeathed his herd of Jersey cows to the University of North Carolina system in 1965. Their family helped create the NC State Dairy Farm, and the cows roaming the fields are descendants of that original herd.
“The 150 cows we milk are vertically integrated. That means we are growing the crops for our cows, feeding and milking them. Then we process the raw milk through pasteurization and homogenization into milk products that our students on campus are drinking and into our ice cream products,” says Ives. “It’s what we call in the dairy industry a value-added venture, and it’s a clear illustration of how the Dairy Education Unit falls into our mission of teaching, research and extension.”
Up next for the Dairy Education Center: a new research project on agritourism, an expansion of the museum, and new flavors of ice cream—all in an effort to expand CALS’ mission to extend agricultural education to the public.
“The fact is, we do teach thousands of students and professionals here. We need that land for proper permitting of our facilities, and we need these facilities to train the next generation of farmers and ag students,” says Lommel. “We also do very important research here.”
With a finite amount of land available for field research so close to campus, researchers at the field lab are innovating ways to think and do more with what they have. A $1.2 million fiber internet building expected to be completed in May will truly bring the field lab into the future by spurring smarter agriculture through advanced data collection and analysis.
On top of the teaching and research mission, the field lab is becoming an agritourism destination. Over 10,000 people from across the state attend the Farm Animal Days event every year. The Howling Cow Dairy Education Center and Creamery, the first retail store on a university farm in the country, welcomes over 3,000 visitors monthly. Howling Cow ice cream is made and sold by NC State students, while the cows are milked and cared for by animal science students who live right on the farm.
So it’s not just the physical 1,784 acres that provide North Carolina and NC State with so much value. As Lommel notes, thousands of students—the future farmers, industry leaders and climate specialists—benefit from this land by gaining the necessary skills to address our most pressing challenges. Lake Wheeler’s true value rests in the future of the food system, our ability to solve problems and generations of changemakers.
On Our Own Turf
Annually, on the second Wednesday in August, some 750 people gather at the 24-acre Lake Wheeler Road Turfgrass Field Lab for the largest turfgrass field day in the country. Turf managers and researchers gather to hear from NC State researchers nationally and internationally known to be experts in their field. One of them is self-proclaimed mother of turfgrasses Susana Milla-Lewis, professor in turfgrass breeding and genetics in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences.
Her children so far: Sola™ St. Augustinegrass, released at the August 2022 field day by the turfgrass breeding and genetics program after 11 years of evaluation and development, and Lobo™ Zoysiagrass, released in November 2021. These new cultivars from Milla-Lewis’s breeding program ensure that turfgrass stands are dense, use less water, outcompete weeds, are quick to establish and can survive across different climates throughout the state and country.
Nationally, the turfgrass industry covers 50 million acres in the United States. That may sound like a lot, but it starts sounding about right when you consider that the United States has over 700,000 athletic fields, over 80 million home lawns, more than 17,000 golf courses and millions of miles of roadsides.
Here in North Carolina, turfgrass is grown on over 2 million acres, more than any other crop in the state. For those who want to learn how best to grow and manage it, there’s no better program than the NC State Turfgrass Management Program and no better place to research and evaluate it than the Turfgrass Field Lab.
Preservation and Perseverance
Established before the American Revolution, Yates Mill is one of the most photographed and painted landmarks in the state and the only remaining gristmill still in operation in Wake County. Lovingly and passionately restored by head miller William Robbins over five years, it is an astounding example of engineering, history and renewable power that represents the agricultural heritage of North Carolina from the 1700s and 1800s.
Yates Mill sits on a 174-acre wildlife refuge owned by NC State and managed by Wake County Parks, Recreation and Open Space. The 20-acre mill pond is fed by Steep Hill Creek and a 3,300-acre watershed. The property serves as a field research lab for students and faculty and soon will include a new freshwater mussel research
research efforts on the freshwater pond will examine toxicological effects of waterborne and sediment-associated contaminants on fish and mollusks.
Yates Mill and the land that surrounds it stand as reminders that preserving our agricultural heritage and conserving our natural resources go hand-in-hand with forging new agricultural practices. They inform each other and demonstrate the ingenuity, simplicity and creativity required in the ongoing work to create sustainable practices that feed communities.
Discover what it took to restore the historic mill to working condition in an exclusive online CALS Magazine feature.
Units at Lake Wheeler Road Field Lab
> Agroecology Education Farm
> Air Quality-Plant Growth and Development Unit (U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service)
> Animal Air Quality and Environmental Management Field Laboratory
> Animal and Poultry Teaching Unit
> Animal and Poultry Waste Management Center and Processing Facility
> Animal Health Building
> Aquaculture Education Unit
> Bee Research Facility
> Chicken Education Unit
> Compost Facility and Research Cooperative
> Compost Learning Lab
> Dairy Education Unit
> E. Carroll Joyner Beef Education Unit
> Feed Mill Education Unit
> Fike Crop Teaching Garden
> JC Raulston Arboretum Research Farm
> J. Edward Booth Field Learning Lab
> Sediment and Erosion Control Research and Education Facility
> Small Grains Research Area (USDA ARS)
> Structural Pest Training Facility
> Swine Education Unit
> Talley Turkey Education Unit
> Turfgrass Field Laboratory
> Weed Science Teaching Field Lab