Tennessee Home & Farm: Tennessee Farm Bureau History, Magazine Coverage and Production
Profile updated November 2026
Tennessee Home & Farm is the quarterly magazine the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation mails to its members as a member benefit, reaching more than 650,000 people. Despite the word farm in its name, it is written for city and suburban readers as much as for farmers, with farm stories, Southern recipes, travel ideas and profiles of Tennessee makers.
| Publisher | Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation (TFBF) |
|---|---|
| Producer | Farm Flavor Media, a division of Journal Communications, Franklin, Tennessee |
| Federation founded | July 30, 1921; first office in the Maury County courthouse basement |
| Frequency | Quarterly |
| Circulation | Produced for more than 650,000 members |
| Headquarters | Columbia, Tennessee |
| Official website | TNFarmBureau.org |
History of Tennessee Home & Farm
The Tennessee Farm Bureau grew out of County Councils of Agriculture, first set up in Blount County in 1919. A group of farmers formed the statewide federation on July 30, 1921, and in 1923 it adopted the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation name and joined the American Farm Bureau Federation. Joe Frank Porter served as the first state president from 1921 to 1946, starting, he later recalled, with little more than a table, two cane-bottom chairs and a secondhand typewriter.
Membership grew from about 3,600 in 1923 to more than 12,000 by 1942. The federation began offering insurance in 1928 and now works through the Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company. By its centennial in 2021 it counted more than 680,000 family members, and the Tennessee Encyclopedia calls it the largest state Farm Bureau in the nation.
Over the years the federation has published Tennessee Farm Bureau News and Farm Bureau Digest and sponsored radio and television programs on Tennessee agriculture. Tennessee Home & Farm, with issues posted online since at least 2008, became its consumer-friendly member magazine.
Tennessee Home & Farm Today
The federation describes Tennessee Home & Farm as a quarterly magazine mailed to members, with farm stories, recipes, travel and more, and additional content on the magazine's companion website. That site covers places to visit, local eateries, Southern recipes, farm-fresh food sources, gardening tips and profiles of farmers and artisans.
The federation also publishes In the Loop, a newsletter on agriculture, rural Tennessee and Farm Bureau news.
What Tennessee Home & Farm Is Publishing Now
Farm stories
Profiles of Tennessee farm families, their crops and livestock, and the farmers behind farm-fresh food sources.
Food and recipes
Southern recipes, local eateries and seasonal food features.
Travel and rural life
Places to visit across rural Tennessee, gardening tips and profiles of artisans and craftspeople.
Tennessee Home & Farm Editors and Staff
Tennessee Home & Farm is produced for the federation by an outside custom publisher. The magazine does not post a masthead online; its contacts include:
- Farm Flavor Media editorial team - Editorial contact and production, Journal Communications, Franklin, Tennessee
- Joe Frank Porter - Former, first TFBF president (1921-1946)
Who Reads Tennessee Home & Farm
Readers are Tennessee Farm Bureau members, a group far larger than the state's farm population. The magazine deliberately reaches city and suburban households along with farmers, introducing them to Tennessee agriculture through food, travel and people.
Tennessee's farms mirror the national family-farm profile from the 2022 Census of Agriculture, which counted about 1.9 million U.S. farms, 95 percent of them family farms, and 116,617 farms selling $3.3 billion directly to consumers. Those direct sellers, from farm stands to farm markets, are a natural fit for the magazine's farm-fresh food coverage.
Tennessee Home & Farm readers know their way around a meat-and-three, a county fair and a backroads detour, whether they live in Nashville or Nolensville. For a bit of fun to go with the recipes, farm.FM serves farm satire and farm humor with Volunteer State charm, plus ranch humor for the Middle Tennessee cattle crowd. Its farm jokes are just right for a porch swing on a summer evening.
farm.FM got there first as the nation's first satirical farm site, and it backs the writing with Tractor Tunes, country music for farmers. Here is one contributor's collection of farm satire to start with.
Tennessee Home & Farm Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Tennessee Home & Farm: About - frequency, circulation and production.
- Tennessee Farm Bureau: 100th birthday press release - the 1921 founding.
- Tennessee Encyclopedia: Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation - history, insurance and publications.
- USDA NASS: 2022 Census of Agriculture release - family farms and direct sales.
- USDA NASS Quick Stats - Tennessee county and state farm data.
Tennessee Home & Farm FAQ
How often is Tennessee Home & Farm published?
Quarterly, mailed to Tennessee Farm Bureau members.
Who produces Tennessee Home & Farm?
Farm Flavor Media, a division of Journal Communications in Franklin, produces it for the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation.
When was the Tennessee Farm Bureau founded?
On July 30, 1921.
Is Tennessee Home & Farm only for farmers?
No. It is aimed at city and suburban readers as well as farmers.
A century after a table, two chairs and a typewriter, Tennessee Home & Farm carries Tennessee Farm Bureau's story to hundreds of thousands of homes.