I was recently appointed for three years to the southeastern region Administrative Council of a USDA program called Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE). This program's mission is to advance ideas and fund projects that help move away from non-sustainable agricultural practices. These projects emphasize stewardship of the land and the environment, while also attempting to maintain or improve profitability. (http://www.sare.org)

I received an award and a nice plaque from the National Resource Service (NRCS, http://www.nrcs.usda.gov) in 2009 that recognized me as "Conservation Farmer of the Year for Grassland Management" for the Moore County Soil Conservation District.

I received a 5-year contract from the NRCS Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), which is a program designed to reward farmers who have made extensive conserva-tion improvements at their own expense. I am certified as a "Master Beef Producer" by the University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service. Our farm was recently approved to market beef under the "Tennessee Natural Beef" program. This is a highly selective program, and my farm is one of only about a dozen in Tennessee to receive this approval:http://www.picktnproducts.org/NaturalBeef/index.html

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