Displaying items by tag: tennessee agriculture

Although Tennessee producers planted 14.7 percent more soybeans in 2024 than the previous year (1.8 million acres as compared to 1.57 million acres), prices paid to producers fell by 16 percent compared to 2023. Image of mature soybeans before harvest. Soybeans and other commodity crops were affected throughout Tennessee by drought and flood. S. Bauer/USDA ARS.

Poor production, low commodity prices mean difficult times for many in state agriculture sectors

Patricia McDaniels is senior media relations coordinator and editor at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture.

KNOXVILLE — In 2024, Tennessee’s agricultural and forestry industrial complex was significantly impacted by six major factors: drought, agricultural land loss, trade deficits, decreasing foreign market demand, below average yields and relatively lower prices for major commodities.

Researchers and Extension specialists from the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics also suggest that the outlook for 2025 could vary depending on the sector.

Michael Katrutsa walks through rows of tomatoes on his 20-acre produce farm in Camden, Tennessee. His crops also include sweet corn, watermelon, cantaloupe, peppers, cucumbers, okra and more.  John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout

Specialty crops take root as models emerge of American agriculture dominated by Delta

This story is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri in partnership with Report for America, with major funding from the Walton Family Foundation. It was originally published by Tennessee Lookout.

CAMDEN ­— A smorgasbord of bright red tomatoes and vibrant vegetables line the walls of Michael Katrutsa’s produce shop in rural Camden, Tennessee. What began a decade ago as a roadside farm stand is now an air-conditioned outbuilding packed with crates of watermelon, cantaloupe and his locally renowned sweet corn — all picked fresh by a handful of local employees each morning.

The roughly 20-acre farm west of the Tennessee River sells about half of its produce through his shop, with the rest going to the wholesale market.

Farms like Katrutsa’s make up just a sliver of roughly 10.7 million acres of Tennessee farmland largely dominated by hay, soybeans, corn and cotton. Specialized machines help farmers harvest vast quantities of these commodity “row crops,” but Katrutsa said the startup cost was too steep for him. While specialty crops like produce are more labor-intensive, requiring near-constant attention from early July up until the first frost in October, Katrutsa said he takes pride in feeding his neighbors.

The World Wildlife Fund sees farms in the mid-Mississippi delta as ripe with opportunity to become a new mecca for commercial-scale American produce. California currently grows nearly three-quarters of the nation’s fruits and nuts and more than a third of its vegetables. 

But as climate change compounds the threats of water scarcity, extreme weather and wildfires on California’s resources, WWF’s Markets Institute is exploring what it would take for farmers in West Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas to embrace — and equitably profit from — specialty crop production like strawberries, lettuce or walnuts.