The traditional fall Ag Day is moving to a Friday and returning to its roots. Ag Day will be Oct. 2, a change that is reminiscent of a barnwarmin’ that used to be held on Fridays before a rivalry football game. Activities will include exhibits and an animal petting area and be expanded into the UT Gardens. An evening dinner will honor the Farmer of the Year and Horizon and Meritorious award winners.
New 4-H Leadership Selected
UT Extension is strengthening Tennessee 4-H senior leadership structure by appointing Ryan Hensley as executive director and Jamie Harris as state program leader. Hensley has served as director of the Tennessee 4-H Foundation since 2011, and Harris has served as interim director since October 2023. Tennessee 4-H is the nation’s largest in-school 4-H club program, with 151,000 members across the state.
Seed Grant Partners Announced
UT AgResearch and the UT Knoxville Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Development have partnered with the Tennessee State University College of Agriculture in a joint seed funding program to support collaborative research projects. Faculty collaborators received six grants of $50,000 each in areas such as precision agriculture, biotechnology and bioinformatics, food security, One Health, and biomass production and markets.
RiverLine Marks Five Years
Tennessee RiverLine celebrated five years since its official launch. So far, some 30,000 people have participated in nearly 500 recreation and stewardship events along the 652 miles of the Tennessee River. The initiative reconnects communities and people to the river and reimagines its public spaces as a 1.2-million-acre river park. Tennessee RiverLine, housed within UT Extension, partners with UT Knoxville and Tennessee Valley Authority.
For more information, visit tnriverline.org.
College Opens Doors to Public
More than 2,000 people attended the College of Veterinary Medicine Open House, a popular event held for the first time since 2019. Visitors learned about veterinary education and work to improve animal and human health. They enjoyed parades of canine and equine breeds and an appearance by the Knoxville Police Department’s Mounted Patrol. Children brought stuffed animals to the Teddy Bear Clinic for checkups performed by veterinary students.
