University of Tennessee Extension recently named Dr. Justin Rhinehart as Assistant Dean for Agriculture and Natural Resources and Community Economic Development. In this episode of Root of The Matter we sit down with Dr. Rhinehart to discuss his new position and other topics in agriculture.

West Tennessee will change drastically over the next several years as Ford builds their new electric truck manufacturing plant in Haywood County. Around six thousand new jobs will be created and more development is sure to follow. On this episode of Root of The Matter we discuss how the new ford facility will impact farming in the area with Megasite Authority of West Tennessee CEO Clay Bright.

Hamblen County farmer John Litz has been appointed by President Joe Biden as the new state Executive Director of the Farm Service Agency in Tennessee.

On this episode of Root of The Matter Lee Maddox speaks with TWRA Assistant Chief of Game Species, Stephanie Karnes, about Chronic Wasting Disease in deer.

On this episode of Root of the Matter TFBF President Jeff Aiken reflects on his career with the Tennessee Farm Bureau, and why he decided to not run for reelection and head back to his farm.

Welcome to Root of the Matter - a brand new podcast where we aim to get to the "root of the matter on issues, events and news defining our most important industry, agriculture. Before we jump into those things though, listen to our first episode as we provide a glimpse on why we’re doing this podcast and where the name came from. HINT: Our good friend and coworker Melissa Bratton has something to do with it.

A conversation with Tracey True, manager of Food and Nutrition Outreach for the Dairy Alliance, about the science-based facts for milk and dairy products and how milk boosts immune health all year, but especially in the colder seasons of Fall and Winter.