UT Extension Eastern Region

The UT TSU Extension Blount County office started a partnership/coalition with the Blount County Farm Bureau Women’s group. Formed in the beginning to give assistance to 4-H Chick Chain program. It has been expanded to include all 4-H programs. On May 14, Blount County Extension conducted a field day for one of their local elementary schools. There were six 20-minute rotations/stops with 40+ third-fifth graders for each rotation. They presented small ruminant and poultry farming best practices and safety around the farm and in the home. Three of the Farm Bureau women assisted, and they provided each participant with hands on experiences and a swag bag with 4-H pencils, Ag coloring book, crayons and farming stickers.

Eastern Region 4-H members recently participated in the 2026 Eastern Region 4-H Fashion and Design Conference held at The Ramsey Hotel in Pigeon Forge. Throughout the conference, youth had the opportunity to enhance their skills and creativity through hands-on FCS-related workshops focused on fashion, design, and personal development.

In addition to educational sessions, participants completed a service project, enjoyed a visit to Tanger Outlets, and attended a dinner show, providing opportunities for fellowship and team building. The conference concluded with a Fashion Show and Clover Collection Showcase, where youth proudly displayed their sewing, clothing, and design projects.

The event provided a valuable experience for 4-H members to develop confidence, leadership, creativity, and life skills while building friendships with youth from across the Eastern Region.

A Blount County 4-H member earned top honors at the 2026 National Cornbread Festival Cornbread Cook-Off held April 26 in South Pittsburg, Tennessee. Charlotte Hurst, a fifth grade homeschool 4-H member, captured first place with her original recipe, Smoking BBCJ Cornbread. Charlotte and her mother traveled to South Pittsburg to compete in the national event, where she prepared her recipe live on stage and presented it to judges for evaluation. For her winning entry, Charlotte received a $500 cash prize and a gift package from contest sponsor Lodge Cast Iron. The competition was open to 4-H members in grades 4–6 from across the country. Participants were required to submit an original cornbread recipe for consideration, with the top 10 entries selected to compete live at the National Cornbread Festival. Contestants had one hour to prepare their recipes entirely on-site, including chopping, mixing, and cooking all ingredients in Lodge Cast Iron cookware. Charlotte's first-place finish is an outstanding achievement and highlights the creativity, culinary skills, and dedication of Tennessee 4-H youth.

There is still room for Quilt Camp! Call your local Extension Office for more information!

Junior High Camp spots are still open for 2026! Reach out to your local Extension office for more information!

Congratulations to our 2026 Eastern Region 4-H Horse Scholarship winner, John Everett Martin!

The Blount County 4-H Horse Show was held on Saturday April 18 at Last Lap Ranch in Maryville. It was a great day with sunny and warm weather! Blount County hosted 16 exhibitors from two different lesson barns plus some with horses kept at a personal barn in the county. Most of these exhibitors will also be competing at the Region 4-H Horse Show.

Unicoi 4-H youth participated in the Inaugural Bristol Meat Judging Clinic and Contest. This event is held in conjunction with the Carcass Show for the Bristol Steer and Heifer Show. Youth who show their beef cattle and wish to process them after are able to do so and see what's under all that hair and hide. This year, we wanted to offer another opportunity for all youth interested in meats. We started the morning with a clinic on the basics of meat judging and how to place classes based of quality, muscling, and trimness. We then went up to the coolers to talk about carcasses, how to properly evaluate carcasses, but also the importance of quality and yield grades and talk about career opportunities in the meat and food industries. After lunch, youth put their knowledge to the test! Contestants evaluated a class of beef ribeye's, beef carcasses, and had 20 cuts to identify species, primal, cut, and cookery method. Our 4-H members brought home quite a bit of hardware as well. Results include:

Champion Senior Team Overall, 1st Senior Team Judging & I.D.
Ellie Hensley - 1st High Individual Overall, 1st Judging, 2nd I.D.
Callie Carty - 2nd High Individual Overall, 2nd Judging, 1st I.D.

Champion Junior Team, 1st Junior Team Judging & I.D.
Mason Harris - 2nd Overall, 2nd Judging, 1st I.D.
Kelsey Widener - 3rd Overall, 3rd Judging, 4th I.D.
Rhett Day - 5th Overall, 4th Judging, 5th I.D.

A special thank you to Dr. Kelly Vierck, UT Meat Science Extension Specialist, and the Fleenor Family, Washington Meat Packing, for putting on and hosting a great event.

The 2026 Eastern Region 4-H Clover Bowl was a success at the Agriculture and Natural Reasons Building at UTK! About 200 youth participated in a team representing their county! Thanks to all the staff that helped make this wonderful event happen!

Great day at the 2026 Eastern Region 4-H Wildlife Judging contest! 81 participants were enjoyed their contest at Norris Dam in Anderson County! Thank you to all that made this happen!