Virginia Tech Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center

What Virginia Tech Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center does

Virginia Tech Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center (Tidewater AREC) is a public applied-research facility located in Suffolk, Virginia, established in 1914 and operated as one of eleven Agricultural Research and Extension Centers under Virginia Tech's Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station. The center conducts applied research on row crops — soybeans, cotton, corn, and peanuts — relevant to the Tidewater region of Virginia and adjacent North Carolina counties, and operates a fee-based soil testing and pest/disease diagnostic laboratory serving regional agricultural producers.

The center's outputs are delivered to farmers and agribusiness stakeholders primarily through the Virginia Cooperative Extension system rather than through commercial sales. Programming includes recurring field days (Small Grains, Cotton, Soybean), co-hosted events such as the Precision Ag Technology Expo, and diagnostic laboratory services. Research is conducted in collaboration with faculty from Virginia Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Science, College of Engineering, and Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, positioning the center as a regional applied-research node within a larger land-grant university system.

From a business-model perspective, the center is publicly funded through Virginia Tech and state appropriations; commercial revenue is limited to ancillary fee-for-service diagnostics. It is not a venture-backed or private commercial enterprise, and the source material does not disclose an operating budget, headcount compensation cost, or any commercial revenue figure. The entity's strategic positioning is therefore best understood as a public-good research and extension asset rather than a revenue-generating business.

Name

Virginia Tech Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center

Legal name

Virginia Tech Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center

Website

https://arec.vaes.vt.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1914

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Tidewater AREC, established in 1914 in Suffolk, Virginia, is one of eleven Virginia Tech Agricultural Research and Extension Centers conducting applied row-crop research and diagnostic services for farmers in the Tidewater region of Virginia and North Carolina via the Virginia Cooperative Extension system.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Tidewater AREC provides applied agricultural research and educational extension programs that support profitable and sustainable farming in the Tidewater region of Virginia and North Carolina. Its work centers on row crop research (soybeans, cotton, corn, peanuts), soil testing, and laboratory diagnostics delivered through Virginia Cooperative Extension, field days, and producer engagement.

Product overview

The Virginia Tech Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center (TAREC) is an agricultural research facility established in 1914, not a product company. It provides applied research and educational programs supporting profitable and sustainable agriculture in the Tidewater region of Virginia and North Carolina. The center offers research and extension programs focused on row crops including soybeans, cotton, corn, and peanuts, along with soil testing and lab diagnostic services. It does not offer commercial products or services in the traditional sense.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Alliance to Advance Climate-Smart AgriculturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-state initiative expanding enrollment in Arkansas and Virginia, including over 1,800 farms and 475,000 acres. The alliance provides financial incentives and technical support to help producers improve soil health, strengthen water retention, and reduce environmental impacts.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences Research Farms: Penn State operates research and extension farms supporting applied agronomic and soil research. Adjacent peer as a fellow land-grant applied research system, though geographically distant and more focused on Northeast cropping systems.

Direct peers

• Mississippi State University Research and Extension: MSU's Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and Extension Service operate research centers with applied row-crop focus comparable to Tidewater AREC, including cotton, soybeans, corn, and soil fertility work.
• University of Florida IFAS Research Centers: UF/IFAS operates 12 Research and Education Centers across Florida with applied agronomic programming. Comparable in being a multi-center land-grant applied research and extension network in the Southeastern United States.
• University of Georgia Agricultural Experiment Station: Statewide network of research and extension centers operated by UGA's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Closely comparable in structure, mission, and Southeast row-crop focus, including cotton, peanuts, and soil fertility research.
• Auburn University Agricultural Research Centers: AAES and its outlying research units conduct applied row-crop and soil research across Alabama. Directly comparable as a regional land-grant research and extension system serving cotton, corn, and peanut producers.
• NC State University Research Stations: Operates a network of agricultural research stations across North Carolina under the NC State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Highly comparable as a fellow land-grant university extension and applied research system serving the Carolinas with row-crop and soil research focus.
• Clemson University Research Stations: Clemson's Experiment Station and Pee Dee REC network conducts applied agronomic research and extension services across South Carolina. Comparable geography (Southeast row-crop systems) and delivery model (university-operated research and extension centers).

Broad incumbents

• Texas A&M AgriLife Research: Large-scale state agricultural research and extension system operated by Texas A&M. Comparable as a major land-grant applied research network, though broader in scope and geographic reach than Tidewater AREC.
• USDA Agricultural Research Service: The principal in-house research agency of the USDA, operating national labs and research locations. Broad incumbent peer providing federal-scale applied agricultural research, including soil, crop, and climate work that complements land-grant center outputs.
• Iowa State University Research and Demonstration Farms: Iowa State's network of outlying research farms supports applied agronomic research and extension for corn and soybean systems. Comparable as a public university research farm network, though focused on Midwest cropping systems rather than Southeast crops.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/virginia_tech
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@vatech-tidewaterag.researc7513
• Facebookfacebook.com/TidewaterAREC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vttarec
• Instagraminstagram.com/vttarec

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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