March is agriculture and University of Tennessee Ag Extension month, and Greene County’s local UT Ag Extension Office Director Christian Dalton said the office is an integral part of the community.
Dalton said that the local office’s programming translated to a $703,674 positive impact on the community from 2025 into March of this year. That number is calculated through volunteer value and livestock and forage improvement impacts.
Programs offered by the office include 4-H, Master Beef Producers, the Master Horse program, the Master Forage Program, the Master Small Ruminant Producer program, and the Tennessee Association for Family and Community Education program.
The UT Ag Extension Office assisted or instructed folks in over 100,000 instances in the past year, according to Dalton.
UT Ag Extension agents visited 530 farms and homes in 2025, with people receiving livestock, crop, lawn and garden, pest or disease advice.
Over 49,000 individuals received in-person instruction through adult classes and lessons or through 4-H participation.
Student participation in the 4-H program continues to grow in schools throughout Greene County. A new 4-H rifle team was recently created, and 4-H wildlife judging and archery programs are getting underway for the season as well, Dalton said.
The local office also welcomed two new agents recently, Anna Parsons who oversees horticulture and Susan Conner who is over nutrition, health and wellness. Dalton said the pair are not only working on improving their own programs, but are working together to create new programming.
Dalton said that the goal of everyone working at the UT Ag Extension Office is for the office to be a hub of information and activity for everything from cattle farming to healthy improvement and financial management.
The Greene County UT Ag Extension Office will be hosting an open house on Wednesday from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. to mark Ag Extension Month. Free hotdogs will be offered during the open house at noon, while light refreshments and cake will be provided during the 4 p.m. open house.
The Greene County Ag Extension Office is located at 303 Takoma Ave., and can be reached by phone at 423-798-1710.
March is also National Agriculture Month. According to the 2022 Census of Agriculture, the most recent agriculture census, there were 2,344 farms in Greene County in 2022. Those farms consisted of 209,228 acres according to the 2022 data, with the average farm size being 89 acres. A total of 65% of farms produced livestock or poultry, while 35% produced crops.
The total market value of products sold from farms in Greene County was $69.7 million according to the 2022 data.
A total of 99% of farms in Greene County were considered “family farms at the time of the census. 1,591 farms were operated by people 65 and older, 2,007 between the ages of 35 and 64, and 279 farms were operated by those under 35.
