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Programs - Agriculture and Natural Resources
Listed below are programs offered through the
Coffee County Extension. For more detailed information
about the program contact the person listed with the program or the
Coffee County Extension. |
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Agriculture & Horticulture
Contact: Stephen Harris
Staff members serve farmers, homeowners, landscapers, pest control operators, agribusinesses and other people by providing research-based information. Educational efforts focus on corn, soybeans, forages, livestock, ornamental horticulture for homeowners and commercial nurseries, and home food production. Staff train volunteer leaders for the Master Gardener program and use volunteer farmers to do test demonstrations utilized to reach all interested audiences.
The Coffee County Agricultural Extension Service serves an agricultural base that is set upon 135,615 acres of farm land. This farm land is broken down into farms that average 140 acres in size and farmed by folks averaging 55 years of age.
The agricultural base of Coffee County is sitting on top of 21,000 acres of soybeans, 16,300 acres of corn, 6,200 acres of wheat and over 30,000 acres of pasture and hay. On top of that, Coffee County has 114,400 acres in forest land or 41.7% of the total land is in forest. In addition, County County is home for over 35,000 cattle and calves, 2,200 dairy cows, over 1,000,000 poultry chickens a year and very few hogs and pigs.
The market value of crops sold from Coffee County farms is around $29,859,000. $11,342,000 of this is from crop and commodity sales, $18,518,000 is from all livestock sales and $4,441,000 is from nursery and greenhouse sales.
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Forestry
Contact: Stephen Harris
Staff members work with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture Forestry Division and The University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service forestry specialists in conduction programs to meet the needs of forest and woodlot owners of Coffee County. Two long term on-going forestry demonstrations are utilized to teach forest management practices. One demonstration was established in 1989 and demonstrates various methods of utilizing pine trees planted into previously unproductive and high-graded hardwood forest on the Cumberland Plateau. The second demonstration, established in 2002, will demonstrate how to do a "hardwood release" cut to improve growth of potentally good hardwood trees that are being hindered in growth by non-productive and competitive trees.
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Coffee County Master Gardener Program
Contact: Stephen Harris
The Coffee County Master Gardener Program is part of the ongoing effort of the Agricultural Extension Service to better serve the ever expanding urban audience. It is a program that enhances the knowledge of the urban gardener and bridges the understanding gap between the farm community and the urban community.
To be a Coffee County Master Gardener an interested person has to complete 36 hours of classroom training and also perform 36 hours of volunteer service to the community in horticultural related activities or projects. Classes that are offered in the Master Gardener program range from soil management and irrigation to intergrated pest management in the home, selection and care of ornamental plants to the knowledge and care of trees through urban forestry, insect and disease management in the landscape to home vegetable gardening, fruit growing or even backyard wildlife.
The cost of the Coffee County Master Gardener program is $75 for the classroom training. The other cost is "sweat, dirt and grime" in the form of volunteer service to others.
The Coffee County Master Gardener Association is a group of gardeners who have completed the requirements to be "official" Master Gardeners. They perform 36 hours of volunteer on an annual basis. The group meets monthly on the second Tuesday at the Agricultural Extension Service office. Programs or activities are planned and conducted by this group of active members. The president of the Coffee County Master Gardener Association is Ralph Graham of Tullahoma, Tennessee.
The Coffee County Master Gardener Association has improved and maintained the landscape at the Coffee County Middle School on Highway 55 in Manchester. Some of the gardeners have landscaped the Haven of Hope and others have worked on landscape projects at the Tullahoma Civic Center. Some Master Gardeners have been involved in projects sponsored by the Tullahoma Tree Board. Overall, this group is very active and innovative.
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