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Speakers at dedication cite $300M‑plus in Ag Enhancement payouts and the program’s statewide impact
Summary
At the dedication for Stratton Bone, state lawmakers and the agriculture commissioner recounted the history and funding of the Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program, attributing the program’s founding and large farmer payouts to Bone’s legislative work; speakers gave differing payout totals and project counts and described the program’s funding sources.
Speakers at the Lebanon dedication for Sam Stratton Bone used the occasion to restate the origins and economic impact of the Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program, crediting Bone with creating or championing the effort and citing multi‑hundred‑million‑dollar payouts to farmers across the state.
State Representative John Ray Clemens said the law initially written and championed by Bone "has resulted in tremendous value to Tennessee farmers," and cited totals of "over $289,000,000 to date to farmers in all 95 counties" and "over 92,500 projects" funded. Clemens read a joint house/senate resolution honoring Bone’s service and framed the program as a long‑term investment in farms and rural communities.
Ken Gibbons, introduced as commissioner of agriculture, described the program’s origins and funding mechanics in greater detail. Gibbons told the audience that early startup funding in the mid‑2000s was modest ("I think $4,000,000 in one year's rent and maybe $5,000,000 in the next") and credited a cigarette‑tax increase during Governor Phil Bredesen’s administration that directed an initial $21,000,000 to the Tennessee Department of Agriculture to sustain the program. Gibbons said that as of the last completed fiscal year checks "have been sent totaling $309,000,000 in change to Tennessee farmers" and that including the current fiscal year the total was "probably somewhere around $320,000,000," with roughly "98,000" to "over 100,000" projects paid depending on the accounting period. He also cited University of Tennessee economists’ work, saying the sector has about a $6.55 multiplier effect for each dollar spent.
The figures cited by Clemens and Gibbons differ in detail; both speakers framed the program as statewide in scope and economically significant for rural communities. Organizers distributed a printed handout with program numbers at the event; the transcript does not include the handout text in full. The comments made at the dedication describe past appropriations and program outcomes but do not record new legislative action or changes to program rules.
Speakers’ statements on totals and project counts were presented as historical summaries rather than current official audit figures; reporters or editors seeking to republish should verify the most recent payout totals and project counts with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture or the program’s published fiscal reports.
