Union County Business & Professional Association awarded scholarships to three Union County High School Graduates in 2019. Recipients spoke at the BPA June meeting and thanked the membership for their scholarships. Ethan Dyer received the Service Scholarship for performing over 200 hours of volunteer time to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital and another 100 hours at Milan Baptist Church and as a coach for Union County Youth Basketball. He will attend Lincoln Memorial University and plans to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree in Business.

Article written by 4-Her Meradeth Whitley
When the Union County UT 4-H Extension office called and asked if I would like to be the June Dairy Month Chairperson, my first question was, “What is that?” I did not know anything about June Dairy Month, and I knew very little about dairy.

Nashville, Tenn. – Meradeth Whitley has been named the 2019 June Dairy Month Chairman for Union County.

Whitley will be honored May 30 at the Tennessee June Dairy Month Kickoff Event at Battle Mountain Farm in College Grove. The event includes recognition from Celeste Blackburn, president of the American Dairy Association of Tennessee.

The official kickoff celebration recognizes Tennessee 4-H members’ efforts to promote June Dairy Month in Tennessee. The event is co-sponsored by The Dairy Alliance, 4-H and the Tennessee Farm Bureau.

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.

The May board meeting for Union County Farm Bureau was packed with excitement. Three scholarships were awarded as well as a presentation by State 4-H Council members and Tennessee 4-H Congress attendees.

Union County 4-H meets monthly with youth in classrooms providing a lesson as well as announcements and upcoming 4-H contest information. During November and December, students are presented with opportunities to participate in the public speaking and poster contests. Many students research, prepare, and practice speeches for their respective in class competitions. At the time of their final presentations, the top speeches are awarded a blue ribbon and participants are invited to speak at the countywide event, held annually in January.

On January 10-12, the 2019 Tennessee State Junior Swine Show was hosted in Murfreesboro, TN. The show was held in conjunction with the Tennessee Pork Producers Association annual meeting. Union County was represented well at the state show. In addition to individual hog show classes, youth competed in showmanship, skillathon, and the ultrasound carcass class.

Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Commissioner of Agriculture, Jai Templeton, Deputy Commissioner Tom Womack and Assistant Commissioner, Administration & Grants Larry Maxwell recently visited Seven Springs Farm to Table and The Winery at Seven Springs Farm. Commissioner Templeton was able to view first-hand how much help their valued partnership through the Tennessee Agriculture Enhancement Program and the Tennessee Agriculture Enterprise Grant has been to Seven Springs Farm.

Union County is a beautiful place to live and visit during any season, but this winter was even more sparkling than expected. The Light Up Union County Event, hosted by partnership UT Extension and Union County Chamber of Commerce, generated twenty three divine holiday light displays. The contest was split into three categories this year including Individual, Organization, and Commercial Business. A Facebook poll was conducted, running about two weeks, for each category.

The Union County 4-H Program is very active in projects and activities providing many opportunities to youth in our area. Heading into the new year, Union County youngsters will be ready to kick off several 4-H events and contests.