Agriculture/Forestry

Specific Judging Considerations

• To recognize individuals, businesses, or organizations that have demonstrated exceptional achievement in developing sustainable resource management programs for agricultural or forestry operations
• Relationship between the environmental benefits and the associated economic benefits

2007 Winner

Winner – Raymond Cooper Farm Grazing Technology for Water Quality (Cannon County)
Raymond Cooper Farm Grazing Technology for water quality has installed fences, several pipelines and water systems at strategic locations throughout the farm to help protect and manage the grass base and implements a rotational grazing system. The system allows the farm to reduce its output cost significantly by using less fertilizer and harvesting less hay. Raymond Cooper has also excluded his cattle from a stream and ponds on the property to preserve water quality and habitat for the Barrens Topminnow, which is considered a threatened species by the State of Tennessee and is only located in Cannon, Coffee and Warren Counties.