Christmas Wreath Workshop Offered at Chuck Swan State Forest

The Union County Extension Office invites the community to kick off the holiday season with a festive, hands-on Christmas Wreath Making Workshop at Chuck Swan State Forest in Sharps Chapel.

The workshop will take place on Thursday, November 21 at 10 a.m. at 3500 Sharps Chapel Road, Sharps Chapel, TN 37866. The cost to attend is $20, and space is limited.

Master Beef Class upcoming

Attention Beef Cattle Farmers: UT Extension Union County is excited to announce that we will be hosting the Tennessee Master Beef Producer Program this October and November. This comprehensive educational initiative is designed to help Tennessee cattle producers enhance the profitability of their cow-calf operations.

Beef producers graduate master program

Commitment, complexity, flexibility and sternness are all features you will find in a beef cattle farmer. American cattle farmers are working harder today than ever to be successful in their industry, and it does not come easy. The devotion is met with long hours, rain when you don’t need it and drought when do. Broken fences, leaky barn roofs, breech calves, and flat tractor tires are nails found in the road of cattle farming.

20th Annual Daylily Bloom Festival

Enthusiasts from around the world traveled to spectate the picturesque landscapes of unique blooms at the Twentieth Annual Oakes Daylily Bloom Festival on Friday and Saturday June 28 and 29. The weather was usual for East Tennessee’s late June days, very hot and muggy, but the temperatures did not slow down the masses of guests attending.

Children at the Farmers Market

An outdoor farmers market, like the Union County Farmers Market at Wilson Park, is a wonderful place for a family outing. It should be fun for everyone and a fabulous learning experience for your children. The variety of sights, sounds and smells at the market automatically engage your child’s senses and are a fun way to foster curiosity, teach important skills and encourage them to think about where their food comes from. A few ideas to help you get started on a family outing to the market follow.

Farm Fresh Fun at Paulette Elementary School

Agriculture partners joined forces in a pleasurable and educational event for Paulette Elementary School students on May 15. This was the 25th Annual Farm Day hosted in Union County. The event is hosted at one of the county’s five elementary schools each year, in rotation, so that every student in the county gets at least one attendance.

Agriculture Creates Opportunity

One of the most important ways to invest in the future of agriculture is to invest in the people who will become tomorrow’s agriculture industry leaders. Students pursuing the agriculture industry often look for careers in planning, implementation, production, management, processing, education, or marketing ag products and services. Tennessee Department of Education predicts that over 60,000 high-skilled agricultural jobs open annually in the United States with just around 35,400 graduates in the Ag, Food, and Natural Resources program studies to fill the openings.