No other event quite like the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration which will crown a new world champion under the spotlight tomorrow night in Shelbyville.

Obviously, predicting the weather is harder than it seems. And for our farmers, its one of the most frustrating aspects of the growing season.  Just look at what’s happened this year across Tennessee.  Thankfully, Eric Snodgrass, a Senior Science Fellow and an Atmospheric Scientist with Nutrien Ag Solutions, studies the weather, basically everyday of the year to help better inform farmers about weather impacts.

Every day whether its on the farm or at home, the one item, besides food, we’re all dependent on is electricity.  And Tennesseans are fortunate right now in that Mike Partin, CEO of the Sequatchie Valley Electric Cooperative, is serving as president of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

Several reports have reinforced that farmers and ranchers are facing economic challenges.

Combines are beginning to hit fields as the 2025 harvest begins. Ricky Chandler is one of the first to get started, shelling white corn on one of their locations in Carroll County. Chandler says dry weather late in the growing season, combined with low commodity prices are making this season tough.

Rob & Leah Holman will soon be riding around in a new Kubota tractor on their farm in Obion County. The Holmans finished second in the Tennessee Young Farmers & Ranchers Achievement Award competition and get to use a brand-new Kubota tractor for up to 250 hours on their farm as their prize.

What a great experience at the Wilson County/Tennessee State Fair the past few days, especially for 4-H’er’s across the state as they have been competing in livestock shows and showing off their talents in the 4-H and FFA building.  And their 10th annual Picnic at the Fair was one for the record books as they raised more than $93,000 to help assist kids attend 4-H camp.

Consumers are seeing what exactly it takes to get a bacon cheeseburger and fries. The expanded Agventures Barn at the Tennessee State Fair shows how long it takes to grow and produce each ingredient in a bacon cheeseburger. The hope is that consumers will be better educated about where their food comes from and have a new found appreciation for the farmer that grew it.

U.S. Secretary of AGriculture Brook Rollins made a visit to the Volunteer State Monday. She addressed the 10th annual Tennessee FFA Ham Breakfast at the Tennessee State Fair. Rollins was joined by Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Vaden. Both Rollins and Vaden also took part in a listening session with Tennessee farmers from across the state, listening to their concerns about the current tough farm economy.

With the start of harvest season in Tennessee, a lot of uncertainty for our row crop farmers as markets continue to remain low and other production costs continue to rise.  Dr. David Kohl, Professor Emeritus at Virginia Tech shared insights recently at the 27th Annual Mid-South Ag Finance Conference at UT Martin.