UT/TSU Extension Lawrence County & Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with several local agriculture businesses and agencies would like to celebrate our farmers with the Lawrence County’s Salute to AG week.
Stay tuned for updates for AG Week 2024! It will be the first week of June 2024.
Monday June 3rd Sage Event with Estate Planning and Farm Stress Resources
Tuesday June 4th Ag Appreciation Breakfast and Farm Tour at Hudson Farm with Farm Bureau providing lunch later that day
Wednesday June 5th Farm City Day
Thursday June 6th Sage Movie & Popcorn and Farm Stress Resources @ The Lakes Venue 2pm to 3pm
Farm To Table Dinner @ The Lakes Venue 6pm
For more information please call (931) 762-5506.
Articles for Salute to AG Week 2023
UT-TSU Extension Lawrence County Launches “Pick Law Co” Directory
Google Lawrence County Tennessee and you will find an enormous amount of information. You will learn that the population is 44,159 and our county covers over 618 square miles of area. You will learn that our county was named in honor of Captain James Lawrence, a famous US Navy Officer during the War of 1812 that is known for his famous last words, Don’t give up the ship”. You will read that David Crockett once called Lawrence County home before he volunteered to go to Texas and was killed at the Alamo. One thing you won’t find is where to buy things that are locally grown.
The Lawrence County Extension Office has been working since the first of the year on developing a local directory of producers who market things that they have grown or made directly on their farm. The idea arose from the “Pick Tennessee Products” program that offers this free marketing outlet for Tennessee producers. The Pick Tennessee Products web-site is— www.picktnproducts.org. The Extension Office frequently gets calls inquiring about where can they find a particular locally grown item. We hope the “Pick Law Co” Directory will help connect the buyers to the growers/sellers. If you would like to be included in the directory please let the Lawrence County Extension Office know and we will add you and your information to the directory. There is no fee to be in this directory. The application is available in paper form or online at tiny.utk.edu/PickLawCo. Some examples of things directly sold off the farm that could be included in the directory—vegetables, fruits, plants, jams/jellies, baked goods, honey, other value added food items, meat, eggs, hay, breeding stock, firewood, crafts and many more things. The directory will be made available digitally as well as by paper copy only for those who make that request. To see the digital copy of “Pick Law Co” go to the UT-TSU Extension Web-site — Lawrence County | Lawrence County (tennessee.edu)
Lawrence County’s number one economic enterprise is agriculture. Based on the most recent Agriculture Census figures from 2017, all farms generate over 71 million dollars annually. Our farmers are also very diverse in the commodities that they grow. Crops and Livestock are almost equally represented in the statistics. While most of the crops raised in the county like corn and soybeans end up feeding livestock in other parts of the country and the cattle that are sold end up at a feed lot in the Midwest, the interest from some producers in direct marketing to consumers straight off the farm is increasing. Basic economics indicates that the closer you can sell your product directly to the end user generally garners more chance for profit. On the flip side consumers typically pay less for items the closer they can buy them back to original producer.
The demand for locally grown items is predicted to continue to rise. The food shortages seen during Covid really fueled the rapid increase in consumer demand for home raised products. Just a few weeks ago the spotlight was on the egg shortage. Producers that were selling home raised eggs were in high demand. In the most recent National Beef Quality Audit the importance of food safety and knowing where your food is coming from moved dramatically up in importance to consumers. Hopefully the “Pick Law Co” Directory will be a resource that will benefit both producers and consumers.
Thanks,
Calvin Bryant
Extension Director
UT-TSU Extension Lawrence County
In recent years, there has been a growing trend towards locally sourced, sustainable food, and 4-H is pivotal in bringing farms to the table. 4-H is a youth development program focusing on hands-on learning in agriculture, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Through 4-H programs, young people learn about where their food comes from, how it is grown, and how to prepare it. They also learn about the importance of sustainable farming practices and the benefits of buying locally-produced food.
One example of 4-H’s efforts to bring farms to the table is Lawrence County 4-H Farm Festival. This program teaches young people about the process of agriculture today and allows students to experience firsthand how and where their food is being produced. Participants visit with local farmers and learn about the different types of animals and crops being produced locally.
In addition to educating young people about agriculture and healthy eating, 4-H is also helping to support local farmers and promote sustainable farming practices. By encouraging consumers to buy locally produced food, the Lawrence County Extension office has compiled a Pick Lawrence County that connects consumers to local producers.
4-H also partners with schools and community organizations to promote healthy eating habits and provide access to fresh, locally sourced food. In some areas, 4-H programs are helping to establish community gardens and farmer’s markets, providing a space for local farmers to sell their products and for consumers to learn more about where their food comes from.
Overall, 4-H is essential in bringing farms to the table and promoting a more sustainable and healthy food system. Through its education and outreach programs, 4-H is helping create a more connected and resilient food system that benefits farmers, consumers, and the environment.
Charles Matthew Adams
Extension Agent II
4-H Youth Development
Lawrence County
Farm Girl Fail
By Tracy Hagan
Extension Agent III
4-H Positive Youth Development
I was never a “good” farm girl. Maybe it’s because my parents didn’t directly farm. Our backyard garden didn’t count. We didn’t do actual crops, herds, or flocks. But my grandparents did! Both sides! So, many of my early food experiences were Farm to Table, but back then, we just called it farming or eating at the grandparents’ houses.
When I think of farm-to-table, I can’t help but remember an early experience. We were at dinner with Mama’s parents, Pa-pa and Granny Crews. They sold out of the Grade B dairy business when I was ten. We were sitting at Granny’s yellow Formica table with mashed potatoes, green beans, and steak. When I stuck my fork in the piece of meat on my plate, Pa-pa let out a loud and realistic “mwraooAHHHH!” You know, not the standard cow “moo” but a loud, distressed sound. I’m pretty sure I jumped about a foot. He was a real jokester, Pa-pa.
Daddy’s Dad, Granddad, ran beef cattle and had catfish ponds. Granny Hagan had chickens and guinea fowl running around the yard. I’m sure that any of the beef we ate there was from his cattle. I think I may be their only grandchild who never hauled hay with him. I was also allergic to feathers and afraid of the chickens. See? Not a good farm girl. I did a lot of fishing, though, and watched Granny clean a lot of fish. She had a fish-cleaning stump or chunk of wood.
I was sure good at eating, though! I’m fortunate to have experienced homegrown, processed, and prepared meats. Both Grannys* canned, made jams and jellies and could dress and fry up any animal handed them. It was TASTY! I only recently realized that Farm to Table is how I grew up. If you weren’t fortunate enough to experience that life growing up, you’re in for a treat! Enjoy!
Farm Stress
Stacy Clark
Farmers face an important occupational challenge in managing stress within the unique conditions of the agriculture sector. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), chronic stress can lead to feelings of anxiety, changes in diet, difficulty concentrating, problems sleeping, poor physical health like headaches, and increased substance abuse.
A farm is made up of a lot of moving parts all of which are influenced by economic, social, and cultural factors. All of these create a multitude of stressors that impact farmers and their families. Some of the stressors are occupational demands, physical health and injury, familial, such as childcare, weather and climate, social isolation, rural depopulation, legal control over property, structural changes in agriculture increasing economic insecurity and market uncertainty. Finance plays a role in farm stress; a struggling farm operation can affect the operator’s mental health.
Everyone experiences stress differently and therefore react differently. Here are some signs of stress:
- Physical signs: headaches, exhaustion, trouble sleeping.
- Emotional signs: irritability, anxiety, sadness
- Mental signs: lack of concentration, memory loss
- Behavioral signs: violence, increased farm accidents.
Farmers and ranchers seeking resources to address these stressors may also face additional barriers such as stigma around mental health, lack of training for mental health providers regarding agriculture operation functions, distrust of medical and/or mental health professionals, prohibitive costs of mental health services, proximity and lack of access to mental health services, lack of time-off to seek care, distrust of public institutions and agencies, lack of access to the internet, lack of access to farmer mental health resources, or discrimination when seeking to access resources.
There are several potentially viable policies and programs that can address farm stress:
- Farmer-led resource delivery
- Social support
- Cooperatives
- Curriculum and training for mental health and farm service providers
- Greater transparency and accountability in accessing federal programs, especially for socially disadvantaged farmers
Social support through crisis hotlines, cooperatives, and peer-to-peer networks provide resources to address stressors among farmers. In the case of cooperatives, studies have shown how they provide a basis for belonging, connecting farmers to resources, and providing a capacity for impacting policy.
Farm stress presents a complex issue with a multitude of stressors and barriers to address farmer and rancher mental health. Uncertainty due to changing economic conditions, changes in the structure of agriculture, climate change, and the restructuring of rural communities all impact farm enterprises and farm families Farms contribute significantly to the local and state economy, as well as provide for themselves and their workers. When farms thrive with the use of all the resources readily available to them, the harmful effects of stress can be mitigated.
SAgE Network encompasses 13 southern states and 2 Territories working together to address the stress related issues associated with farming, ranching, and other agriculture-related occupations. All 13 states are working together to create a network that will become available to farmers that will provide them with resources to manage and deal with farmer stress. That includes helping farmers navigate financial challenges, labor shortages, succession planning, and land loss. All of which contribute to added stress.
Source: SAgE Network