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New Agriculture Agent and County Director starting July 1

Posted on Tuesday, June 24, 2025 at 11:30 am

My name is Matthew Deist and starting July 1st, I’ll have the privilege of serving as your agriculture Extension Agent and the responsibility of leading the experienced and talented professionals of your local UT-TSU Extension office here in Bedford County.

For those of you unfamiliar with the University of TN Extension Service, our mission is to solve problems and improve lives through the application of research and evidence-based knowledge in agriculture and natural resources, family & consumer sciences, 4-H youth development, and community development. Every county in the state of Tennessee has a local Extension office and I’m grateful for the opportunity to lead yours. I hope to also have the opportunity to meet and work with many of you reading this brief article, but until then, a short introduction here will have to suffice.

Professionally, I have over a decade of experience with UT Extension, starting my career in Marion County where I worked with a wide array of agricultural clientele, some 1,500 4-H youth, and several Master Gardener volunteers. My work largely revolved around education in the areas of livestock and forage production, but I also addressed educational needs in the areas of consumer horticulture and youth workforce preparation. For the past three years I’ve served as one of the two Agriculture Extension Agents in Franklin County working primarily with row crop producers, nurserymen, Master Gardeners, and residential clientele.

A little about me personally, I grew up on a farm near Fayetteville, TN where we raised registered Red Angus cattle and exhibited them across the southeast from county fairs to even national competitions. I graduated from Lincoln County High School in 2007, received my bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from MTSU in 2012, and later received a master’s degree in Agriculture, Leadership, Education, and Communication from UT Knoxville in 2021. I’m blessed to be married to my best friend Catherine and to be the father of our wonderful daughter Waverly and son Henry whom we’re expecting soon. I believe in hard work, doing the right thing, and serving others with the talents we’ve been blessed with.

At end, I’m grateful and excited for this opportunity to serve as your agriculture Extension agent and to lead Extension efforts at your local UT-TSU Extension office. If I can be of assistance, please don’t hesitate to give me a call at 931-684-5971 or email me at mdeist@utk.edu.

The UT/TSU Extension Office will hold a Meet and Greet on Tuesday, July 8 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at the Extension Office at 2105 Midland Road, Shelbyville. Please stop by to grab a bag of chips and a drink and meet Matthew Deist, our new Bedford County Agriculture Agent and County Director.