Tennessee

Tennessee AgrAbility Project (TNAP) exhibited at the annual Pick Tennessee Conference 2018 and hosted three educational sessions with over 400 in attendance. This conference brought together seven state associations for farmers' education and networking. TNAP was proud to welcome, at the opening reception, special guest Michael O'Gorman, founder and executive director of the Farmer Veteran Coalition. Mr. O'Gorman talked about Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) to agricultural and veteran stakeholders and introduced the FVC of TN. Mr. O'Gorman shared his amazing story and commitment to veterans who want to farm. Farming started for him back in 1970 at "The Farm" in TN.

Charley Jordan, Farmer Veteran Coalition of TN point-of-contact and spokesperson for TNAP, told his story on the following podcast: Click here. TNAP is proud to have partnered to build a network across TN for beginning farmers and veterans who want to farm and promote Tennessee AgrAbility. Follow Farmer Veteran Coalition of Tennessee on Facebook.

At the first beginning farmer workshop, there were 23 participants. Topics included: TN AgrAbility, Farmer Veteran Coalition, and "Deciding What to Grow on Your Farm."
For the Tennessee New Farmer Academy, there are limited AgrAbility customer scholarships available for 2018. There are three locations for these classes: Nashville, Wartburg, and Memphis. For further information, click here.

Ag nurse Dr. Deborah Reed partnered with TNAP to promote AgrAbility through farm safety and health theater. TNAP hosted the theatre at the Pick TN Conference 2018. Dr. Reed shared important farm health and safety messages with this fun and educational presentation style. Tennessee AgrAbility shared a tip sheet: "10 Tips for Your Farm Health and Safety". Follow Dr. Reed on Facebook by clicking here. She is hosting the session, "Farmer Stress, Depression and Suicide: the Unacknowledged Epidemic" at the 2018 NTW.

Submitted by Tennessee AgrAbility Project (TNAP)