Membership Meeting: Farm Numbers and Records (Part 1) - Knox County Community Garden & Growers Alliance

November’s membership meeting was held via zoom and hosted by Luke Shoffner & Sara Dean from Knox County USDA/NRCS.

In this two-part workshop, Alliance members learned and discussed:

What a Farm & Tract Number is;
It’s benefits; and
How to apply for a Farm Number

Establishing Farm Records and Numbers

Luke Shoffner, is a soil conservationist for the Knox County Soil Water Conservation District and Sara Dean is a program analyst for the USDA Farm Service Agency. Sara provided a detailed presentation on how to establish farm records and obtain a farm number, emphasizing the importance of accurate information for program eligibility and communication. She also outlined the benefits of farm records, including participation in USDA programs and disaster assistance. The conversation ended with Sara sharing her contact information for further inquiries.

Luke discussed the role of the Knox County Conservation District in promoting agricultural management and natural resource conservation. He explained the district’s funding sources, including the Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s ARCF program and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). Luke also provided an overview of agricultural statistics in Knox County, noting a decrease in the number of farms and total land area between 2017 and 2022. He highlighted the county’s ranking in nursery and greenhouse product sales and its position in cultivated Christmas tree sales.