UT Institute of Agriculture Presents Top Faculty and Staff Awards for 2025
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The accomplishments of the faculty and staff of the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture were celebrated at an annual awards luncheon held on the UT Knoxville campus in the new Agriculture and Natural Resources Building on July 30. Many of the awards are gifts made possible by faculty, alumni and friends of the institute.
UTIA Senior Vice Chancellor and Senior Vice President Keith Carver hosted the luncheon and praised the honorees for their work. “The enthusiasm and expertise demonstrated by our UTIA faculty and staff is unparalleled,” he said. “I am always in awe of their dedication to providing real life solutions to the people of Tennessee. These well-deserved awards represent impacts and accomplishments that benefit Tennesseans and society now and for years to come.”
Established by the late Dutch Cavender, former director of UTIA Marketing and Communications, and his late wife, Marilee, the Cavender Outstanding Award for Best Publication recognizes excellence in the development of peer-reviewed material produced by the UT Institute of Agriculture. This year, three authors are being recognized for their contributions to two different publications.
Applying Tennessee’s Definition of Agriculture to Land Use Questions Regarding Agritourism Activities, UT Extension publication PB 1923, provides information to help farmers and residents better understand state laws that define property used for agritourism. Activities and attractions often considered agritourism include on-farm pick-your-own experiences, corn mazes, day camps, horseback riding, nature trails, wedding venues and more. Whether agritourism operations qualify as agriculture has important implications for how these operations are treated by Tennessee’s statutes regarding land use.
The publication was authored by Megan Bruch Leffew, Extension specialist with the UT Center for Profitable Agriculture, and Kevin Hensley, director of public policy for the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation. The Center for Profitable Agriculture, a partnership between UTIA and the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation, celebrated 25 years in 2023.
“It is an honor to have this publication recognized with the Dutch and Marilee Cavender Outstanding Award for Best Publication. It tackles an important, complicated topic and tries to offer direction to provide Real. Life. Solutions. to farmers, agriculture industry partners, and community and county leaders. It would not have been possible without the committed collaboration of co-author Kevin Hensley and the diligent work of our wise team of peer reviewers,” said Leffew, who has worked at UTIA for 22 years.
The other winner of the Cavender award was the Tennessee Value-Added Meats Program Series that includes UT Extension publications Genetic Selection with Feedlot and Carcass Traits in Mind (SP-1043), authored by Troy Rowan, and How to Finish Cattle in Tennessee (SP-1042) and General Production Considerations for Grain and Grass Finished Cattle in Tennessee (PB-1029) authored by Katie Mason. Both Rowan and Mason are assistant professors in animal science and Extension beef specialists.
The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture is comprised of the Herbert College of Agriculture, UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch, and UT Extension. Through its land-grant mission of teaching, research and outreach, the institute touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. to Tennesseans and beyond. utia.tennessee.edu.