Taking a Bite Out of Ag Entrepreneurship

Young Tennesseans are getting a chance to take a shark-sized bite out of agribusiness entrepreneurship with a new “shark tank” program from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.

Commissioner of Agriculture Julius Johnson, who dreamed up and encouraged the idea, says its purpose is to inspire young people involved with 4-H and FFA to think about their futures in agribusiness. This is just one of the department’s many new efforts to drive agricultural innovation in the state.

“We thought it would be great to grow a generation of young people in rural Tennessee who thought about taking an idea, a product, to market and learn everything there is involved,” Johnson says.

Recognizing the importance of developing a program dedicated to teaching the ropes of “agri- entrepreneurship” to students – the future leaders of the agriculture industry – Johnson approached 4-H and FFA about starting the program.

Knowing how to present an idea or product to business investors is just as important as the product itself, Johnson says.

“This will be training on how to get your idea out to folks and how to attract investors.”

The state is investing $5,000 annually to support a competition for Tennessee’s 4-H and FFA, which Johnson says are some of the strongest in the nation.

“This just adds another element that youth can get involved in – and that could come back to our local economies,” he says.

The commissioner also says there are more investors today than there have been in quite some time.

“The United States Department of Agriculture has put incentives out there for investors to invest in these kinds of ideas,” he says. “And knowing how to get to those funds and make connections is part of the program, along with learning the business profile and what being an entrepreneur is all about.”