Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Tennessee's Agriculture and Economy
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Tennessee's agricultural and forest-based industrial complex and its economy in a variety of ways. The range of these impacts include downward pressure on commodity prices that have reduced farm incomes, reduced demand for building materials, reduced household food sufficiency and changes in food shopping habits, loss of food and fiber processing and retailing sales, reduction in restaurant and agri-tourism business sales, and disruptions to transportation and trade. In short, the pandemic has impacted Tennessee's agricultural sector from farm to fork. The COVID-19 Agricultural Economic Analysis Team is working to provide economic analysis of how the pandemic may impact farm incomes, household food sufficiency, business sales, and the overall economy. Please keep in mind, though, that the effects of the pandemic are evolving as individuals, businesses, and governments adapt to a changing set of circumstances.
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One in 10 Tennessee Families Were Food Insufficient During Early Months of COVID-19
The latest research from the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture indicates that during late April and early May 2020, approximately 525,000 Tennessee households were food insufficient, meaning they sometimes or often did not have enough to eat - that's one in 10 families. About 30% of these struggling households were food sufficient prior to the onset of the pandemic.
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Accelerated BS-MS Program
Earn both your Bachelors of Science and Masters of Science (BS-MS) degrees in less time than our traditional programs by taking graduate level courses that will count towards both degrees through our new Accelerated BS-MS Program.
Qualified students obtain a BS degree in Agricultural and Resource Economics with a major in Food and Agricultural Business or Natural Resource and Environmental Economics in seven semesters by completing 120 credit hours, including 9 hours of graduate courses that count towards both the BS degree and the MS degree. Students then go on to obtain a thesis-based MS degree in Agricultural and Resource Economics (Agricultural Economics Concentration or Natural Resource Economics Concentration) in three semesters and one summer, completing an additional 22 credit hours of graduate work.
Learn more about the program on our Undergraduate Studies page.