NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tennessee State University's 22nd Annual Small Farm Expo brought together farmers and agricultural experts to share ideas and strategies for combating rising input costs — pressures that ultimately reach consumers at the grocery store.
For more than two decades, the Small Farm Expo has served as a gathering place for farmers and agricultural experts to exchange ideas, learn about emerging practices and see the latest research.
Finis Stribling III, Director of the Small Farms Program at TSU and a third-generation farmer, said technology is helping farmers work smarter.
"The equipment that I run today on my farm, you know, we have guidance system. I have GPS, and it's, it's, it's a game changer, you know, where you can go to work early morning, you know, use your guidance system with the fatigue of the work, working all day, you don't really feel that at the end of the day," Stribling said.
But even with those advances, profitability remains a challenge.
"So you know, when prices go up, input prices goes up, so we're kind of still stagnated, you know, as relate to no profitability as relate to agriculture," Stribling explained.
Those farm-level cost increases don't stay on the farm.
"As input costs increase, you know, you start looking at fuel price, you look at transportation price, so a lot of that is also, you see it as a consumer because now the cost of our products, it costs a little bit more money as well," Stribling said.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, food prices are up 2.7% compared to this time last year. Grocery prices are up 2.3%, with prices increasing in five of the six major grocery store food groups.
Stribling hopes students entering the field recognize that agriculture offers career paths beyond working on a farm.
"A lot of times people have that, uh, misconception of, you know, what can you do with an agriculture degree. So I think coming to Tennessee State University, majoring in agriculture, they get an opportunity to see what's available and what's out there," Stribling said.
TSU also offers a summer apprenticeship program that brings juniors and seniors from across Tennessee and neighboring states to spend several weeks at the university exploring careers in agriculture.
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