Growing the food is only half the job. This is the recordkeeping and state process behind Price Family Farm, laid out step by step for anyone doing this in Tennessee for the first time.
Rather than just listing the dates, these are the original certificates that document two of the farm’s first-year milestones. Select either preview to open the source PDF.
The State of Tennessee certificate records PRICE FAMILY FARM as the official family farm name and authorizes its display and use in Greene County, Tennessee.
View original certificate (PDF) ↗
Certificate of completion for the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture’s Master Farm Manager Program, documenting formal farm-management training during the farm’s first season.
View original certificate (PDF) ↗None of this happens overnight. It runs alongside the actual farm work, built up through the season as the operation became real enough to document.
Every purchase, from soil and containers to plants and greenhouse materials, gets kept as a receipt and logged. This habit starts before any application does, because you can't document commercial intent after the fact.
Under Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 43, Chapter 25, a family farm can register its official name with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. “Price Family Farm” was registered and authorized for use in Greene County.
A formal plan covering the business overview, mission, production and infrastructure, sales & marketing strategy, and financial management. It's the document that turns “growing a lot of plants” into a defined agricultural business.
A signed statement to the Tennessee Department of Revenue laying out exactly what's being grown, what's been invested, and how daily farm activity is carried out. It's the evidence that this is a real, active operation and not a plan on paper.
A cover letter plus Form RV-F1308401, submitted to the Department of Revenue's Taxpayer Services Division in Nashville, with the business plan, written statement, and supporting documentation of land use and 2026 capital investment attached.
Alongside the state paperwork, ongoing education matters too. Completing the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture's Master Farm Manager Program rounded out the first year with real farm management training, not just growing know-how.
The recordkeeping behind the written statement: real receipts across soil, containers, seed, and structures, not a placeholder plan.
Note: this page summarizes our own recordkeeping and application process for anyone curious about how a Tennessee family farm gets registered. It isn’t legal or tax advice, so if you’re starting your own farm, check current forms and requirements with the TN Department of Agriculture and Department of Revenue directly.