Ag Commissioner to speak at Farm City Breakfast May 12
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
Area farmers and business leaders are invited to start the day Tuesday, April 12 at the annual Farm City Breakfast at 7:00 a.m. at The Butter Dish, 100 Creekside Plaza in Pikeville. Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Andy Holt is the guest speaker for the annual Farm City Breakfast and membership meeting of the Pikeville-Bledsoe County Chamber of Commerce.
Commissioner Holt, who serves as the state’s 39th Commissioner of Agriculture, was appointed by Governor Bill Lee to the post after serving as Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner for the Business Development Division.
He, his wife, and their seven children live on the family farm outside of Dresden. Although he is a first-generation farmer, his wife’s family has been farming in West Tennessee for four generations. The Holt farm consists of beef, goat, and swine production, plus providing custom straw and hay baling. The family hosts agritourism activities on their farm each fall.
Commissioner Holt earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Agricultural Economics Business with a minor in Animal Science in 2004 from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He earned his Master of Business Administration in 2007 for UT Martin.
Prior to his post at the department, Holt was a member of the Tennessee General Assembly for 10 years representing House District 76, which included all of Weakley and portions of Carroll and Obion counties. During Holt’s service in the House of Representatives, he served as the Chairman of the Budget Subcommittee, Vice-Chairman of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, and was granted membership to numerous other committees. Holt had the pleasure of serving as the Chairman of the Ag Day on the Hill Committee for all 10 years of his tenure.
Commissioner Holt’s primary goal while serving in the General Assembly was to ensure the needs and desires of agriculture, forestry, and the rural economy were sufficiently represented. Before his service in the House, Holt worked with Farm Credit Services and the Tennessee Farmers Cooperative.
Farmers and business leaders are encouraged to hear Commissioner Holt and see how they can work together to promote farming in Bledsoe County with its rich heritage of agriculture – livestock, fruit and vegetable production, and forestry.
