Tracy and Katie Robinson of Franklin County Win State Young Farmer Honors

Lebanon, Tenn. July 20, 2024 - Tracy and Katie Robinson of Franklin County are the 2024 Tennessee Young Farmers of the Year. The announcement was made during the Tennessee Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers Summer Conference at the Farm Bureau Expo Center in Lebanon.

As second-generation farmers, the Robinsons farm with Tracy's family on Sugartree Farms in Belvidere. The family farm is a diversified operation where they work more than 4,000 acres of row crops, forages and raise beef cattle. The row crops consist of corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, rye, crimson clover, and for the first time this year, cotton. With close to 1,000 acres of forage, the Robinsons grow straw, oat, alfalfa, timothy, orchard grass, fescue and mixed grass hay, and roll close to 4,000 bales of hay a year. The farm also has a commercial cow/calf operation of 100 head of Black Angus, Hereford and Charolais cattle in addition to operating their own feed store where they bag and sell grain. The couple has been married for close to two years and are excited to be welcoming their first baby in October.

Tracy and Katie have been extremely active in YF&R on the state and local level for several years. Growing up attending Farm Bureau meetings with his family since he was a child, Tracy served on the state YF&R committee for two years before being chosen by YF&R members to be state chair in 2020. He has also been involved with the Franklin County Farm Bureau serving as a board member.

The Robinsons were named this year's winners based upon farm and financial records from 2023 as well as their leadership on the farm, in their community and in Farm Bureau. The couple competed against 18 other county contestants to be named the state winner.

As state winners, the Robinsons receive a year's free use of a Case IH tractor up to 150 hours. They also receive $1,000 and a Kubota RTC from Tennessee Farm Bureau, an insurance policy to cover the tractor for one year from Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee, $1,000 in qualified Farm Bureau services and a trip to the American Farm Bureau Convention in San Antonio in January 2025 where they will compete for national honors with other state winners.