UT Institute of Agriculture asks committee for $3M recurring for research; highlights extension work, flood response, 4‑H and FIFA turf project

Dr. Keith Carver, vice chancellor and senior vice president of the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, told the Tennessee House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on an October meeting date not specified that the institute is seeking a $3 million recurring appropriation to increase research and technology aimed at boosting yields and farm profitability.

Carver told the committee the Institute’s priorities include precision‑agriculture research, work to produce “more food on less land,” and programs to help farmers respond to recent floods. “The biggest way we can help the state, we can help the producer, we can help the consumer is investing in research and technology,” Carver said.

The request comes as Carver described the scope of UT’s land‑grant work across Tennessee: research on roughly 35,000 acres of university‑managed farmland, an extension office in every county, and multiple outreach programs. He said extension logged about 1.8 million in‑person group meetings last year, roughly 34 million digital contacts, and about 195,000 on‑site visits to homes, farms and local businesses. Carver said those extension consultations are funded by the state and some federal sources and are provided free to citizens.

Why it matters: committee members pressed that research and extension underpin farm profitability and recovery after extreme weather, while Tennessee…