TN.gov Newsroom

NASHVILLE – Hundreds of visitors will head for Ellington Agricultural Center in Nashville on Oct. 17 and 18 for the 17th Annual Music & Molasses Arts & Crafts Festival.

"This is a huge weekend of family fun," said Anne Dale, director of the Tennessee Agricultural Museum. “We will have music, horse-drawn wagon rides, molasses making and lots of great food. Tennessee crafts and unique items will also be available for purchase.” 

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Agriculture recently awarded more than $252,000 in Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program forestry grants. The grants will assist cities and towns in maintaining and increasing their tree resource.

“Our urban forests are an important resource and, managed properly, can help reduce heat buildup, control storm water and improve the quality of life in our urban environment,” said state Agriculture Commissioner Ken Givens. “This program is making a difference by helping our cities and communities maximize the benefit of this vital and often underutilized resource.”

NASHVILLE - Governor Phil Bredesen today announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved his request for federal farm assistance for Overton County due to heavy rains and extensive flooding that occurred in July.

NASHVILLE - Thinking about a family reunion, but nobody wants to chip in for that hotel ballroom? Worried about where to have your wedding so you can still afford a honeymoon? Wondering where in the world you can give your employees the annual event their families have come to expect without bankrupting the company? With the national economy still struggling, many people are forfeiting foreign locales and high end destinations, looking instead to keep their celebrations local.

NASHVILLE - Scientists tell us that the area now known as Tennessee was once covered in water, inhabited by all manner of sea creatures now forever ensconced as fossils in the limestone from Memphis to Bristol.

What goes around comes around.

The sea creatures are back—at least on the farms across the state where shrimp farming is joining more traditional methods of food production. Technically, the little crustaceans are freshwater prawns, but our tastebuds understand that what we’re talking about here is shrimp.

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Agriculture is now accepting grant proposals for projects that will help improve water quality and reduce or eliminate nonpoint source pollution. The deadline for submitting grant proposals is Dec. 1. Proposals will be evaluated based on program goals and objectives, performance evaluation criteria and applicable EPA Nonpoint Source grant guidelines.   

NASHVILLE - Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture Terry J. Oliver recently joined with U.S. Rep. John Tanner and other federal, state and local officials in celebrating the opening of the new Lauderdale County Agricultural Learning Center at Halls High School.

The center, which includes a covered livestock arena and stalls, classroom, food preparation, bath and storage areas, will support FFA, 4-H and other youth and adult education programs. The center will also be used to demonstrate proper animal health and livestock marketing practices to area farmers.

NASHVILLE - “If apple pie and hotdogs are the foods that say ‘America,’ what are the foods that say ‘Southern?’” 

“You know the answer,” says Tammy Algood, spokesperson for the statewide Pick Tennessee Products campaign. “Okra and grits.” 

“Okra is so essential to some Southern dishes that, if only okra is left out, the remaining ingredients no longer qualify as that dish. We’re talking about recipes for gumbo, here; the very word for okra, in the West African countries we got this vegetable from, is ‘gambo’.”