Mountain scenery creates a spectacular backdrop as travelers follow scenic backroads and highways through southeast Tennessee where they can purchase slow cured hams, the only cheddar cheese made in Tennessee, apples, daylilies, award-winning muscadine wines, and more.  There is a dairy plant that offers free tours to learn how “The World’s Best Ice-Cream” is made, corn mazes in the fall, a Native Plant Garden at the Ocoee Whitewater Center, and a cheese factory run by a sixth generation farmer.

The Agri-Culture in the Tennessee Overhill brochure includes a map marked with suggested stops along the way and a brief overview of the farming history of the Tennessee Overhill, a region that got its name from the earliest farmers who worked the land there -- the Overhill Cherokee. The trail follows the backroads and highways of the region, sometimes winding alongside scenic rivers, sometimes traveling through pastoral farmlands, and sometimes exploring small towns.  The brochure, which is used a national model for other agritourism tours across the country, also includes a list of traditional agricultural events like the Annual Ramp Tramp in Greasy Creek, and several county fairs.

Agritourism -- visiting a working farm or an agricultural, horticultural or agribusiness for the purpose of enjoyment or education -- has become big business for many farmers. The extra income means that farmers don’t have sell land that might have been in the family for generations, helping to preserve a way of life for many in the region.

 According to Linda Caldwell, Director for the Tennessee Overhill, “Farming has always held a place of importance in the Tennessee Overhill for generations, and even though farming has changed, its importance has not diminished.  Garden patches, hay bales and silos still dot the landscape and folks who live in the Tennessee Overhill still hold a locally grown melon and a slow cured ham in high regard.”

For copies of the new brochure, or questions, contact the Tennessee Overhill, Dept. A; PO Box 143; Etowah, TN 37331; 423-263-7232; brochures@tennesseeoverhill.com.