Farmer of the Year Award
Guidelines and Rules
Introduction and Purpose
The purpose of this program is to recognize exemplary efforts of our farmers in Northeast Tennessee-Southwest Virginia, specifically in the counties of Lee, Scott, Wise, Russell, and Washington in Virginia, and Hawkins, Sullivan, Washington, Carter, Unicoi, Johnson, and Greene in Tennessee. We are looking for those farmers who can be identified as having a real “heart” for farming. The identification, selection, and recognition will be a joint effort of the cooperative extension agencies in Northeast Tennessee – Southwest Virginia and Six Rivers Media (parent company of Kingsport Times News and Johnson City Press). In that effort, Six Rivers Media invites you to support farmers by participating in the Farmer of the Year Award program. You are invited to nominate outstanding farmer(s) from your county to compete for this award.
The award selection will be presented at Farm Expo 2024, to be held at Bristol Motor Speedway – South Building the weekend of February 4 – 5, 2024. The announcement will be made on Saturday, February 4, on the Farm Expo Main Stage. Your support is critical to the success of this program. The eligibility guidelines are listed below and the nomination form is enclosed. The completed nomination form must be received by November 10, 2023, at the address listed on the next page or via the online form below.
Eligibility
To be eligible for this award, the producer must meet the following guidelines:
- The farm operated by the nominee must be located in the counties of Lee, Scott, Wise, Russell, and Washington in Virginia, or Hawkins, Sullivan, Washington, Carter, Unicoi, Johnson, and Greene in Tennessee.
- The Producer/Family members must have an active role in the labor and/or management for the farm.
- Operated by a family dependent on farming for a significant but not necessarily a majority of its income.
- Open farming operation to field visits by judges at requested times.
Nominations
- The person nominating must include the attached nomination form and a typed or handwritten narrative describing why this farmer should be nominated.
***This award program is open to all farmers without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, religion, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or family status.
