Tennessee

TN AgrAbility Project (TNAP) staff met in Franklin, TN, to attend/present at the 2025 Pick TN Conference. This was a great opportunity for ag networking with nine TN associations at one conference. TNAP, part of the Farmer Veteran Coalition of TN (FVC TN) Ag Advisory Committee, organized and moderated the nine FVC TN educational sessions.

The official launch of the new TN AgVets Program in TN - AgVols Opportunities on FarmLand (AgVOLs) - occurred at the conference. TNAP will continue their work with veterans with disabilities who face barriers to farming and educate about rural assistive technology. Great team of ag partners working to help veterans who want to farm! https://farmmanagement.tennessee.edu/agvols-veterans-in-ag/

The Farmer Veteran Coalition TN annual meeting was held during the Pick TN Conference. TNAP visited with past ag and veteran friends and was introduced to new ones. A special moment was hearing special guest Hank Delvin, Jr. of Delvin Farms share his story. Due to Mr. Delvin, like other veterans, not receiving a proper welcome home after Vietnam, all veterans in attendance at the meeting "presented arms" to Mr. Delvin.

TNAP staff moderated the February educational "Farm Family Health and Wellness" webinar that addressed Tennessee farmer health and well-being and focused on helping farm families and their communities make long-term health investments. The audience learned additional tools to help manage farm stress: "Identifying and Managing Stress on the Farm" with Dr. Paul Norrod, assistant professor, University of Cincinnati, and "Understanding and Better Managing Persistent/Chronic Pain" by Dr. Don Penzien, professor, Wake Forest School of Medicine.

The 1st Ladies Raising Livestock Conference was held in Greenville, TN, where attendees celebrated women in agriculture and learned how raising livestock is more than just a task-it's a lifestyle, something to do, something to love. TN AgrAbility presented the "Work Smarter, Not Harder with Assistive Technology" session. Amazing day laughing and educating women of all ages, thanks to the Extension planning team, strong women representatives, and the ag storyteller, keynote speaker "Fancy Lady Cowgirl" Courtney Dekoff!

2025 grain & soybean conferences are held throughout TN and have been tagged the first farmer/producer social event of the year. The conferences offer the most practical insight into emerging crop production issues, utilizing research and evidence-based data from University of Tennessee and other land grant colleges. These conferences hosted a trade show during which TN AgrAbility provided a show-and-tell exhibit with different assistive technology tools to make farming tasks easier with physical/learning challenges. Producers are looking at the PTO Sling and PTO Link HD system on display.

Submitted by Tennessee AgrAbility Project