Foster Wins Environmental Stewardship Award

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Ethan Foster of Maury County is the 2023 Tennessee Young Farmers & Ranchers Environmental Stewardship Award winner. The award highlights young farmers who incorporate environmentally friendly practices on their farm.


Thomas Capps: Recognition for efforts and environmental stewardship. Hello, welcome to Tennessee Holman Farm Radio. I’m Thomas camps.

Ethan Foster: It’s my whole life. It’s my full time Monday through Friday job and then it’s my job in the afternoons on on the weekends on my farm.

Thomas Capps: Ethan foster of Murray County is this year’s winner of the Tennessee Young Farmers and Ranchers Environmental Stewardship Award. The award recognizes young farmers who are making an effort to incorporate environmentally friendly practices on their operations. Foster works full time as a soil conservationist with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Services and runs a cow calf and stocker operation on the side. Foster constantly tries to take good care of the environment. It’s something that’s always been a part of his life.

Ethan Foster: My mom was on the soil conservation board for Maury County for many years. So I have kind of grown up with conservation in mind. My grandfather put a lot into conserving his land and making it better when he left it to my brother and I now which we now farm his farm, then when he bought it, and so it’s it’s meant a lot to me and it’s, it’s kind of become my life, my livelihood for my wife and I.

Thomas Capps: As a soil conservationist Foster works with farmers every day to get them in environmental programs that involve things like growing cover crops. He says farmers sometimes get a bad rap on how they treat the environment. But in reality, farmers protect the environment better than almost anybody.

Ethan Foster: We as farmers have to take care of what we have. If we destroy our best asset our land, then we have nothing to farm with to raise the next crop with a graze cattle alone because without healthy land, farmers livelihoods are ruined. I think farmers are the exact opposite of probably what many people think I think they probably care more for land their animals than then you could ever imagine.

Thomas Capps: As winner, Foster receives a free trip to the American Farm Bureau Convention, which is in Salt Lake City, Utah in January and a Schlegel quick hoist bumper. For Tennessee Holman Farm Radio, I’m Thomas Capps.