Princeton's UK Research Center marks 100 years of ag service while rebuilding from 2021 tornado

This week, the University of Kentucky's board of trustees joined farmers and community members to celebrate a century of service at the Research and Education Center at Princeton, even as it continues to be rebuilt from the deadly 2021 tornado outbreak.

The center was created in September of 1925 in Caldwell County to provide crop and cattle research, outreach programs and educational training to western Kentucky farmers and UK ag students. It has long been a proud centerpiece of the county, with more than 60 employees on the 1600-acre site.

But in one single night, an EF-4 twister wiped out decades of infrastructure and millions of dollars of equipment. The tornado knocked down miles of cattle fencing, and most of the facility's buildings across five acres, including a newly renovated laboratory. Even running water had to be restored to water the livestock.

Now, as the centennial celebration showcases, more than twenty new structures are complete or under construction, including a state-of-the-art greenhouse, and more than 200 research projects are being carried out.

The final construction of one of the state's key agricultural assets is expected to be done next year, approaching the fifth anniversary of the tornado.



Photos: Large crowd attends centennial celebration event. (UKREC Facebook); 2024 construction progress at the UK Research and Education Center in Princeton (Brian Volland/University of Kentucky)

On the Net:

WPKY's coverage of the UKREC centennial event

History, goals  of the UKREC