The Eighth Annual Tennessee State Fair FFA Ham Breakfast was a sold-out event with more than 1,200 business leaders, government officials, farmers, and members of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) present Monday. The event raised $200,000 for FFA and was presented by Farm Credit Mid-America. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) CEO Jeff Lyash headlined the event with other guest speakers: Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, United States Senators Marsha Blackburn (TN) and Bill Hagerty (TN), Congressman Andy Ogles (TN-5), and Congressman John Rose (TN-6).
Lee Todd of Germantown was recognized with the prestigious Tennessee FFA Lifetime Achievement Award. Todd was a State and National FFA Officer in the 1950s who carried his love of agriculture into a successful career as the Executive Director of the Cotton Ginners Association. Todd is a member of the Tennessee FFA Sponsoring Committee.
Each year, the event highlights the Tennessee Century Farm Program, administered by the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. One of Tennessee’s oldest farms, the Glenn Acres Farm in College Grove, Tennessee, was recognized.
The FFA program is one component of agricultural education, which is a course offered in some 230 middle and high schools across Tennessee. The administration of the FFA program is a joint effort between the Tennessee Departments of Agriculture and Education. Both Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher and newly appointed Education Commissioner Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds were in attendance.
Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, a sponsor of the event, and House Speaker Cameron Sexton were among the more than 40 state legislators in attendance. Other representatives of the State Legislature that participated as sponsors of the event included State Senator Jack Johnson, the House Democrat Caucus led by State Representative John Ray Clemmons, and State Representatives Michael Hale, Pat Marsh, and William Lamberth.
Supporters of the event included agricultural household names such as the Tennessee Farm Bureau, the Farmers Co-op, and Tractor Supply Company. Other non-agricultural supporters were as varied as Meta, J&S Construction, Bristol Motor Speedway, and the Nashville Superspeedway. More than 150 sponsors participated in the event. All proceeds go to the non-profit Tennessee FFA Foundation to support the students involved in the agricultural youth leadership program.
The event was capped off, as is tradition, with the auction of the two Grand Champion Hams—the Country Ham and the Packer Style Ham. The two winning entries came from Bobby Parker of Woodbury (Country Ham) and Anna Whitt from Spring Hill (Packer Style Ham). The Country Ham sold for a record $20,000 to bidding partners H&R Agri-Power, an agricultural equipment dealer, and Catesa Farms, owned by George McDonald of Riddleton, TN. The Packer Style Ham went for $18,500 to the Tennessee Farm Bureau, well-known seed company Beck’s Hybrid, and John Deere dealer TriGreen Equipment.
The Tennessee State Fair continues through Saturday, August 26. For more information about the fair, visit tnstatefair.org. To learn more about Tennessee FFA, visit tnffa.org.
