Facility Utilization

Kentland Farm is a valuable resource for a wide variety of educational and research activities. Although it’s primary use is for research, teaching, and extension activities for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, this facility of almost 1,800 acres has much to offer for a diverse clientele base.

The farm has been used for several field days and outdoor events, including the Virginia Tech Farm & Family Showcase, as well as for walking tours by a local community group and other community service organizations. Kentland hosts ornithology classes, is a site for police and agriculturally-related training, hosts agriculture industry tours and workshops, is an official weather station for the national weather service, and its terrain diversity and large size makes it appealing for periodic search and research training. 

Kentland serves as a major resource for several departments in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences including:

• Agricultural, Leadership and Community Education
• Animal and Poultry Sciences
• Biological Systems Engineering
• Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences
• Entomology
• Food Science and Technology
• Horticulture
• Plant Pathology, Physiology and Weed Science

Other Virginia Tech colleges that use Kentland for teaching and research purposes:

• Natural Resources
  • Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences
  • Forestry
• Engineering
  • Aerospace & Ocean Engineering
  • Civil & Environmental Engineering   
  • Engineering Science & Mechanics
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Myers-Lawson School of Construction
• Science
  • Biology
  • Geosciences
• Veterinary Medicine
  • Large Animal Clinical Sciences
• Liberal Arts & Human Sciences
  • History
  • Religion & Culture
  • Sociology
  • Visual Arts

There are a number of non-academic programs at Virginia Tech that benefit from access to Kentland such as the Virginia Tech Police Department, Environmental Health and Safety Services, Dining Services, and ROTC.

The farm is also utilized by agencies and organizations outside of the university including:

• 4-H and FFA
• Local public school science and environmental classes
• Boy Scouts
• Local high school rocketry club
• Second Harvest Food Bank
• Natural Resources Conservation Service
• Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts
• Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
• Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
• Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries
• Virginia Department of Health
• Virginia Department of Historic Resources
• Virginia Young Farmers
• Virginia Forage and Grasslands Council
• New River- Highlands Resource and Development Council
• Local Wake Forest slave descendants group