2025 UTIA Ag Day Includes Activities and Special Guests
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – In an annual tradition, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA) will celebrate Ag Day, which this year will be held September 20 before the Tennessee Vols take to the field against the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The event theme is “Farming for the Future” and festivities will take place on the UTIA campus, beginning at 8:15 a.m. EDT, and continue until 11:15 a.m. UT football fans will have plenty of time to make their way to the game at Neyland Stadium.
The event is free and open to the public. Guests will enjoy activities for the whole family as they visit with faculty, staff and students from across the Herbert College of Agriculture, the College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch and UT Extension. Department-based demonstrations and exhibits will be on display and activities are expected to include live animal exhibits, music, and an interactive selfie station. Food will be available for purchase. Due to the opening of the new Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) Building, the event is expanding from the Brehm Animal Science Building Arena and will include the ANR ballroom, plaza and lobby.
Registration can be completed before or at the event at advanceutia.tennessee.edu/agday25.
This year the UTIA campus will welcome a special guest to the event: Jaye Hamby, director of the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the extramural funding agency in the USDA Research, Education and Economics Mission Area. Hamby is a Tennessee native and a graduate of the Herbert College of Agriculture with a bachelor of science degree in agricultural education. He was an active 4-H’er and a national FFA officer. Following graduation from UT, Hamby attended Oklahoma State University where he earned master’s and doctoral degrees in agricultural education with a specialization in agricultural economics.
Ag Day will also include the presentation of the Institute’s Meritorious Service Award to Kent Kilpatrick and UTIA’s Horizon Award to College of Veterinary Medicine graduate Ashley Reeves.
Kilpatrick is the owner of The Apple Barn in Sevierville, Tennessee, and he, along with his family, have worked with UTIA, specifically UT Extension, since the 1970s when they planted their first apple trees. Kilpatrick has consistently demonstrated a deep commitment to the mission of the land-grant system, supporting UTIA across all its core areas: teaching, research and Extension. Each summer, The Apple Barn hosts several UT Herbert College of Agriculture interns, providing them with valuable hands-on experience in both agricultural production and agribusiness. Kilpatrick also shares his insights as a guest speaker in the Herbert Scholars Seminar series, helping students understand both the challenges and opportunities in Tennessee agriculture.
Reeves is a 2019 graduate of the UT College of Veterinary Medicine and earned her Ph.D. in comparative and experimental medicine in 2022. She has rapidly emerged as a leader in wildlife research and conservation and serves as the research and wildlife veterinarian for the East Foundation and as adjunct faculty at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, where she directs field-based studies that bridge veterinary science, wildlife management and agricultural health. Her work focuses on endangered species recovery and disease surveillance in livestock-wildlife interfaces. Reeves is also deeply committed to education and mentorship. She has guided numerous graduate and undergraduate students through research projects, coursework, and fieldwork, fostering the next generation of conservation scientists and veterinarians. Her leadership extends to national service roles, including as the Reproductive Advisor for the Ocelot Species Survival Plan and as a member of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Ocelot Recovery Team.
The institute will also present a new award sponsored by UTIA Senior Vice Chancellor and Senior President Keith Carver and his wife Hollianne. An administrative specialist at the AgResearch and Education Center at Milan, LesLee Smelser, is the recipient of the first-ever Keith and Hollianne Carver UTIA Customer Service Award. Smelser is well known across UTIA for her “can do” demeanor and her positive attitude as she manages the administrative responsibilities of the Milan Center, including the internationally known Milan No-Till Field Day. Smelser holds a bachelor’s degree in business and corporate communications from Murray State University.
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.