Rural Reimagined Student Success Story

Rural Reimagined (RR) recognizes horticulture major Ethan Johnson for earning the Rural Reimagined award of $750, with an additional $500 in technical assistance from the Center for Rural Innovation at the 2022 Eagle Works competition for his idea of Johnson Farms. Johnson's award-winning idea was an automated farm which could produce year-round produce for local markets.

Johnson emphasized the potential impact of his idea: “I think that the largest problem in modern society is overpopulation, and this farming method helps solve the problem of feeding additional people. I am trying to equal a small farm output to that of a larger, more industrial farm. All organic and weekly picked produce will be able to give any plant the ability to be sold at the market year-round.”

Regarding Eagle Works, Johnson states, “A professor showed me that anyone has the chance to win Eagle Works, and I hope that future competitors can also see that.” Congratulations, Ethan! For more information on how you can get involved with Eagle Works next year, contact Andrea Kruszka at akruszka@tntech.edu. Wings up!