Our state’s agriculture heritage is headed to the nation’s capital.

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The Smithsonian National Museum of American History reached out to farmers and agribusiness personnel, including the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation’s very own Pettus Read, to consult on an Agriculture and Innovation project that will be part of a new exhibit at the museum in Washington, D.C.

Stories, photographs and ephemera will be used to record and preserve the innovations and experiences of the agriculture world. Read will be helping to look for the right stories that will show visitors the underlying secrets of how farmers make a difference in everyone’s lives.

“We will not just be looking for objects to place in an exhibit, but true life stories and photos from farm families,” Read says.

The first donation came from Spring Hill dairy farmer Pat Campbell. The exhibition also will explore the development of American agriculture through objects such as Eli Whitney’s cotton gin, a 1920s Fordson tractor and more. Learn more at americanenterprise.si.edu.