Center for Profitable Agriculture Celebrates 25 Years

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Center for Profitable Agriculture

Photo credit: Randy Pollock

Farming is a way of life but also a business for the farmers owning and operating the more than 69,500 farms in the state. However, Tennessee agriculture looks very different now than in the past when farmers could make a healthy profit with a few cows or acres of crops. After seeing the need to help farmers evaluate and develop value-added enterprises, UT Extension created the Agricultural Development Center in 1998. A few years later, the name of the center was changed to the Center for Profitable Agriculture, the Tennessee Farm Bureau became a funding partner, and the headquarters was moved from Knoxville to Middle Tennessee. From day one, the center has operated in close relationship with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and many other industry partners.

A quarter-century later, the Center for Profitable Agriculture helps farmers find new and creative ways to increase their efficiency and profitability through individual enterprise analysis, workshops, conferences, publications and planning tools. The center helps farmers by providing educational programming and technical assistance to help farmers find extra profits in the existing and new areas of their operations. Value-added enterprises can include cattle farmers producing beef for farmers markets, general farms offering agritourism or more creative options like switching commodities and changing production practices.

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“Looking back, we have covered a lot of territory in the past 25 years,” says Rob Holland, center director. “We have conducted an educational program or consulted with a value-added farm venture in all 95 counties, we have developed more than 510 publications and fact sheets, conducted more than 1,800 educational workshops and developed programs such as Farmers Market Boot Camps, Value-Added Beef Initiative, Southern Style Hospitality, and Exploring Agritourism. We have stayed busy and the center is still growing strong.

“The Center for Profitable Ag helps farmers identify these opportunities, evaluate their potential and make them successful.

“We look forward to continuing our mission of helping Tennessee farmers develop value-added enterprises,” Holland says.
To learn more about the program or enroll in assistance, visit cpa.tennessee.edu.

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