A White County farmer wins this year’s Hay Champion Award at the 2025 Tennessee State Fair for having the best orchard grass in Tennessee.
Farmer Dwight Adcock said he grew up on a farm and has been around agriculture his entire life. Adcock said he has cattle, which means he has to produce hay. Adcock said being named Hay Champion is a reflection of the blessings in his life.
“This award is not by me,” Adcock said. “I want to give God the glory for this because he provided the seed. He provides the fertilizer, the land, the rain and the sunshine. And I just want to give God the glory. I just was blessed to be a part of it.”
Adcock said his hay growing process and techniques have remained the same over his career. Adcock said he just had good hay this season.
Adcock said he was approached about the competition by White County Ag Extension Agent Scott Swoape, who took a sample of his hay and submitted it to the fair.
“Hay from all 95 counties goes to the state fair,” Adcock said. “And they just asked me to provide some hay. I provided some last year, but I didn’t have any winnings last year. UT Extension just asked me for some hay. They took it down there, I didn’t have anything to do with it.”
Adcock said he is not sure of the exact scoring process, but his understanding is that hay is scored on a 100 point scale. Adcock said he not only produces hay, but takes pride in making a quality product. Adcock said he sells some of the hay produced on his farm.
White County’s agricultural reputation is strong, and Adcock said being the Hay Champion this year is a big deal for area producers.
“It’s very important,” Adcock said. “Actually, somebody from White County won third place also. So White County was represented well.”
Adcock said since there are multiple types if hay, he is unsure if he competed against all varieties or just other orchard grasses.
