UTIA to Lead UT System One Health Initiative

The UT One Health Initiative will focus on research collaborations to address regional animal and environmental health issues that also may have implications for human populations. Approximately 70 percent of emerging infectious disease cases in humans and livestock are a consequence of spillover events from wildlife. Debra Miller, a veterinarian specializing in wildlife pathology who holds a joint appointment in the College of Veterinary Medicine and the UTIA Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, and who also serves as director of the UTIA Center for Wildlife Health, has been named interim director of the UTOHI.

A group of black cattle
Healthy cattle mean safer, higher-quality meat products for consumers. UTIA boosts herd health in Tennessee through animal genomics research, Extension outreach and knowledge for producers from the UTIA Beef and Forage Center, Beef Heifer Development School, Master Beef Producer programs and annual bull tests.

Student Organization Recognized Nationally

Six UT students from the MANRRS chapter at UTK
At the MANRRS regional conference: front row, from left, Destiny Brown, Legna Soto and Windy Soto; middle row, from left, Jasmine Jones and Bryanna Fayne; back row, Damon Conway

The UT student chapter of the national organization Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) earned the 2019-2020 Chapter of Excellence Award. This is the eighth consecutive year the chapter, which is rooted in the Herbert College of Agriculture, has been recognized with this award.


Farm Bureau Pledges $125,000 to Lone Oaks Farm STEM Facility

The Tennessee Farm Bureau—including the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation, Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee and Tennessee Farm Bureau Health Plans—has pledged $125,000 to UT Extension. The donation will be used for a science, technology, engineering and math barn at the new Youth Education Center at Lone Oaks Farm in Middleton. The center will consist of an instructional facility, demonstration farm and overnight lodging for 64 students.

Healthy cattle mean safer, higher-quality meat products for consumers. UTIA boosts herd health in Tennessee through animal genomics research, Extension outreach and knowledge for producers from the UTIA Beef and Forage Center, Beef Heifer Development School, Master Beef Producer programs and annual bull tests.


UT Extension to Coordinate PROMPT-TN in Response to Opioid Crisis

UT Extension has received a grant for $324,841 to lead a joint effort of multiple institutions to combat the opioid crisis in Tennessee. A pilot program called PROMPT TN (Preventing Rural Opioid Misuse Through Partnerships and Training) will focus on developing opioid-specific resources designed to educate communities about the underlying causes of addiction, assessing the economic impacts of addition and engaging communities to implement prevention programs. The two-year project is funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture and will be led by faculty from UT Extension in cooperation with faculty from Tennessee State University and the East Tennessee State University Addiction Science Center as well as the Tennessee Department of Health.