[381]STATEWIDE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES CARROLL COUNTY FARM FOR CONTRIBUTIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 7, 2008
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947

STATEWIDE PROGRAM RECOGNIZES CARROLL COUNTY FARM FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
101-Year-Old Utley Farm Becomes County’s 10th Designated Century Farm

(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Utley Farm in Carroll County has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reported Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms Program at the Center for Historic Preservation, which is located on the MTSU campus.
Located near Atwood, the Utley Farm that was founded by O. L. Vawter in 1907. He and wife Annie had two children, Brooks and Frances Willard. On 47 acres they grew corn, cotton and beans and raised cattle, hay, hogs and chickens. A barn built in 1917 is a reminder of this founding generation’s long ownership, which covered more than 60 years.
In 1979, Frances Willard Utley became the second generation to own the farm. Married to Melvin Utley, they had one child, Bobby Lee Utley. During her ownership the farm produced corn, cotton and beans.
Bobby Lee Utley acquired the farm in 2001. He and his wife Shirley have two daughters, Pam White and Mai Moore, who grew up on the farm. Today, three generations live on the farm, including Bobby and Shirley, as well as Mai and husband Tracy and their two children, Andrew and Bobby Lee. Much of the land is rented and corn, cotton and soybeans are primary crops.
“The Utley Farm is the 10th Century Farm to be certified in Carroll County,” Hankins said.
The Century Farm Program recognizes the contributions of Tennessee residents who have continuously owned, and kept in production, family land for at least 100 years. Since 1984, the CHP at MTSU has been a leader in the important work of documenting Tennessee’s agricultural heritage and history through the Tennessee Century Farm Program, and continues to administer this program.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture began the Tennessee Century Farm Program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial.
Today, the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign, noting either 100, 150 or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production” to Century Farm families.
To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years; must produce $1,000 revenue annually; must have at least 10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.



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ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview the farm’s owners or request a jpeg of the Century Farm metal sign that is placed on designated properties, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.