Tennessee has a long history of diversified agricultural production. Over the years, agricultural production has evolved with new enterprises replacing some more traditional commodities produced within the state. Some infrastructure owners have found alternative uses for their buildings, while others remain empty or under utilized. The goal of this project is to help understand the uses and functionality of structures that have been repurposed for an alternative use, thus generating new revenue streams for the property owner. Examples of these repurposed structures include greenhouses, hoop houses, hay barns, tobacco barns, hog barns, dairy facilities, and poultry barns. The project would develop resources for property owners seeking alternative uses and provide a range of current rental rates.
Our intended audiences was farmers and rural landowners that owned or purchased agricultural property with unutilized farm structures. Our project was able to work with several people that were part of our targeted demographic. However, the majority of individuals interested in our program had either completed the repurposing of there structure and were wanting to tell their story or had a plan to repurpose the structure as a value added enterprise for their business.
We presented our project to two groups. A UT County ANR in-service training and at the SEEC annual meeting. We completed a survey with 23 responses and worked with approximately 25 producers/landowners/ rural businesses. Our team also successfully used social media to provide examples of successfully completed projects that repurposed farm structures. This brought attention to our project and resulted in additional contacts. The impact of the project was greatest working one-on-one with producers.
Most of our proposed outcomes were achieved. We determined numerous alternative functions for structural assets on farms, we developed estimates for repurposing structures and the increased value, assisted producers with implementing a repurposed farm structure plan, and reviewed an Extension publication on considerations for repurposing old poultry barns.