Save Cloydland Farm!
Save Cloydland Farm!
The Issue
Cloydland Farm is a priceless piece of TN history. Founded in 1789 by ancestors of Bill Ligon.
Mt. Juliet officials are considering options to expand roadways and relieve congestion in the local area. Several of these options will cut into parts of this Bi-Cenntenial farm.
The farm would negatively be affected because the field being considered is one used to grow hay for the farm animals.
Help protect this family and its livelihood.
https://www.tncenturyfarms.org/farms/
Mt. Juliet Gov- Western Connector Project
father-and-son-want-farm-spared
A letter from Andy Ligon:
Below is a letter to outline some of our family's history and larger points depicting how a bypass would negatively impact our farm and the community. If you can, please share this in your petition. Thank you so very much for your support! I cannot thank you enough for all of your help!
I am writing to bring light to our side of the story for Mount Juliet’s recent Western Connector Project. Two of the three options proposed for a North to South bypass connecting Lebanon Road to West Division Street, Options “B” and “C,” will run directly through the middle of our farm. The third option will widen an existing road, South Greenhill Road.
We are a Bicentennial Farm, established in 1789, with over 233 years of continuous family farm production. Since the land’s original settlement, our family has farmed timber, hay, small grains, and livestock while providing safe harbor for wildlife and preserving nature’s natural waterways and soil. The farm in question is the heart of our operation. It produces all the hay needed for our livestock in addition to the community’s animals (over 200 sheep, 35 cattle, and well over 200 horses, cattle, sheep, goats and other animals in the community). Electing a bypass will take a devastating toll on our farming ability and sustainability.
We have played a vital role in the community throughout our family history. In 1789, our farm was deeded as a Revolutionary War grant to my seventh-generation grandfather, Captain John Cloyd. We own the oldest Poland China hog herd in the United States and one of the oldest Hampshire sheep flocks in Tennessee. Our family’s original farmhouse, built in 1791, is listed in the National Register of Historical Places and the Wilson County Historic Driving Tour. In 1970, our mules were furnished for the ground breaking ceremony for Opryland Theme Park, now Opry Mills. My grandfather, Herschel Ligon, has spoken in front of both the Senate and House floors advocating for agriculture and local farmers. He was honored in the House Joint Resolution 1113 by Representative Stratton Bone. He was a World War II U.S. Army Major leading his company in the D-Day landing on Utah Beach. He is a charter member of the Donelson American Legion Post 88, one of the largest Posts in Tennessee. He received the first Distinguished Service Award from the Tennessee State Fair in 2000 for exhibiting Poland China hogs for fifty-one consecutive years and, in 2008, was inducted into the Wilson County Agricultural Hall of Fame. My father, Bill Ligon, was a dedicated high school agricultural teacher for 30 years, as well as a Captain in the U.S. Army. I was the 2009 to 2010 Middle Tennessee State FFA Vice President advocating for agriculture and agricultural education throughout the State and Nation. I am currently an Equine Veterinarian for Tennessee Equine, one of the largest equine-only veterinary clinics in the Southeast. Lastly, Brian and Katie Bates, who manage one half of our farm, have established the Southern Rhythm Farm Festival, which held over 1200 attendees this year. This is an agritourism event dedicated to the community to further incorporate agricultural education through interactive learning experiences with plants, animals, and all aspects of farming.
Both Options “B” and “C” would absolutely devastate this farm. Each proposed route is outlined to completely divide our farm. Tate Lane was erected with the interest of the farmer in mind. Its winding curves and dog-leg turns followed the field’s outline. This was to preserve each family farm and give each farmer the best means to continue farming. This farm is used entirely for hay production. By diagonally dividing the fields, you take away the land’s highest yielding section. You then create triangles, small plots, and sharp corners. All of which develop land inaccessible to farming equipment. With two shoulders, two driving lanes, and a center dividing lane, we are estimating Option B to take at least 3 acres of land, and Option C to take at least three and a half acres. You can add an additional 15 to 25 percent loss due to easements, equipment inaccessibility, and loss of production. This alone will decrease our use of land to less than 55%. Once the land is taken, we no longer have the option to re-coop for loss. That land use is gone forever.
If either option is elected, we will be forced to bulldoze existing old growth timber to the ground in an attempt to make up for lost production. Doing so will cost us thousands of dollars in labor and production. If we are to clear timber, it will take at least two to five growing seasons (2-5 years) to cultivate the land to where it is productive. In those years, we take a huge loss financially in already limited net funds.
Please consider the immense impact on livestock, wildlife, and the environment a bypass through our farm will create. The amount of farmland in the City of Mount Juliet is dwindling down at an alarming rate. Our City’s wildlife need a safe haven. Last year alone, this farm housed over twenty-six deer, countless wild turkeys, red-tail hawks and other birds of prey, native and migratory birds, coyotes, foxes, opossums, racoons, squirrels, chipmunks, groundhogs, and the list goes on. These animals need a place to reproduce, feed, and thrive. Our farm provides that and more with woodlands, croplands, natural waterways, and ponds. More traffic to the area would further encroach on our wildlife’s limited habitats. Traffic accidents due to head-on wildlife collisions would result due to animals attempting to cross paths they have created for decades. Water supplies would diminish leading to dehydration and starvation. Run-off water could flood fields, erode soil, and pollute waterways. All of which devastate the environment. Increased traffic yields increased pollution. Livestock and wildlife have the increased risk of ingesting toxic foreign material. As such leading to sickness, loss, and death. Every day we pick up broken glass bottles, plastic waste, and trash at our farms on Lebanon Road. We know first-hand just how devastating highway waste negatively impacts animals.
By dividing our farm, we have to cross yet another highway with large, slow-moving tractors, trailers, trucks, and farm equipment. Imagine the immense danger we are in while driving in fast moving, high traffic areas. Countless farmers are killed each year in traffic accidents. We are six and seven generation family farmers. A single loss in the family due to a lethal traffic accident would not only drive a stake through our hearts, but could be the end of a long era of 233 years of family farming. Not only that, please consider the lives of those on the other end of a tractor collision. The City could be responsible for erecting a road that ultimately ended the life of a family’s three-year-old daughter or six-month old son yet to see his very first Christmas.
Please consider the impact on the community by dividing our City’s historical land. How many cities can boast that they house multiple Century and multi-generational farms? Wilson County alone has the highest number of Century Farms in the State. Our City and our County were founded on family farms and agriculture. A plow, a sheaf of wheat, and a cotton plant above the word “Agriculture” are depicted within the Tennessee State Seal. Once history is erased, you can never get it back.
We are trying our best to stay a part of this community. Katie and Brian Bates, who manage half of our farms, have started the Southern Rhythm Farm Festival. This is an agricultural education event designed for the community to provide a place where children and adults can spend time with plants, animals, and all aspects of farming. We want to help mend the gap of those distant and near to farming by providing a fun, interactive, family-friendly event to share stories, facts and knowledge. During its initial launch, we counted over 1200 individuals in one day. This farm helps to ensure the longevity of this and many more events yet to come.
On behalf of my entire family, we hope that you now see just how much this land means to us and the community. Please forward this letter and petition onto any party that may be of benefit. If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to me by email at andy.ligon90@gmail.com. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Dr. Andy Ligon
Associate Veterinarian
Tennessee Equine Hospital, North
--
*About the petition writer*
My Name is Erica Wright. My husband and I have our own family farm in Henry Tennessee. Although we are in our infancy, protecting this farm also helps protect other family farms in the future should this happen again. We are here and we will fight with you.
2,476
The Issue
Cloydland Farm is a priceless piece of TN history. Founded in 1789 by ancestors of Bill Ligon.
Mt. Juliet officials are considering options to expand roadways and relieve congestion in the local area. Several of these options will cut into parts of this Bi-Cenntenial farm.
The farm would negatively be affected because the field being considered is one used to grow hay for the farm animals.
Help protect this family and its livelihood.
https://www.tncenturyfarms.org/farms/
Mt. Juliet Gov- Western Connector Project
father-and-son-want-farm-spared
A letter from Andy Ligon:
Below is a letter to outline some of our family's history and larger points depicting how a bypass would negatively impact our farm and the community. If you can, please share this in your petition. Thank you so very much for your support! I cannot thank you enough for all of your help!
I am writing to bring light to our side of the story for Mount Juliet’s recent Western Connector Project. Two of the three options proposed for a North to South bypass connecting Lebanon Road to West Division Street, Options “B” and “C,” will run directly through the middle of our farm. The third option will widen an existing road, South Greenhill Road.
We are a Bicentennial Farm, established in 1789, with over 233 years of continuous family farm production. Since the land’s original settlement, our family has farmed timber, hay, small grains, and livestock while providing safe harbor for wildlife and preserving nature’s natural waterways and soil. The farm in question is the heart of our operation. It produces all the hay needed for our livestock in addition to the community’s animals (over 200 sheep, 35 cattle, and well over 200 horses, cattle, sheep, goats and other animals in the community). Electing a bypass will take a devastating toll on our farming ability and sustainability.
We have played a vital role in the community throughout our family history. In 1789, our farm was deeded as a Revolutionary War grant to my seventh-generation grandfather, Captain John Cloyd. We own the oldest Poland China hog herd in the United States and one of the oldest Hampshire sheep flocks in Tennessee. Our family’s original farmhouse, built in 1791, is listed in the National Register of Historical Places and the Wilson County Historic Driving Tour. In 1970, our mules were furnished for the ground breaking ceremony for Opryland Theme Park, now Opry Mills. My grandfather, Herschel Ligon, has spoken in front of both the Senate and House floors advocating for agriculture and local farmers. He was honored in the House Joint Resolution 1113 by Representative Stratton Bone. He was a World War II U.S. Army Major leading his company in the D-Day landing on Utah Beach. He is a charter member of the Donelson American Legion Post 88, one of the largest Posts in Tennessee. He received the first Distinguished Service Award from the Tennessee State Fair in 2000 for exhibiting Poland China hogs for fifty-one consecutive years and, in 2008, was inducted into the Wilson County Agricultural Hall of Fame. My father, Bill Ligon, was a dedicated high school agricultural teacher for 30 years, as well as a Captain in the U.S. Army. I was the 2009 to 2010 Middle Tennessee State FFA Vice President advocating for agriculture and agricultural education throughout the State and Nation. I am currently an Equine Veterinarian for Tennessee Equine, one of the largest equine-only veterinary clinics in the Southeast. Lastly, Brian and Katie Bates, who manage one half of our farm, have established the Southern Rhythm Farm Festival, which held over 1200 attendees this year. This is an agritourism event dedicated to the community to further incorporate agricultural education through interactive learning experiences with plants, animals, and all aspects of farming.
Both Options “B” and “C” would absolutely devastate this farm. Each proposed route is outlined to completely divide our farm. Tate Lane was erected with the interest of the farmer in mind. Its winding curves and dog-leg turns followed the field’s outline. This was to preserve each family farm and give each farmer the best means to continue farming. This farm is used entirely for hay production. By diagonally dividing the fields, you take away the land’s highest yielding section. You then create triangles, small plots, and sharp corners. All of which develop land inaccessible to farming equipment. With two shoulders, two driving lanes, and a center dividing lane, we are estimating Option B to take at least 3 acres of land, and Option C to take at least three and a half acres. You can add an additional 15 to 25 percent loss due to easements, equipment inaccessibility, and loss of production. This alone will decrease our use of land to less than 55%. Once the land is taken, we no longer have the option to re-coop for loss. That land use is gone forever.
If either option is elected, we will be forced to bulldoze existing old growth timber to the ground in an attempt to make up for lost production. Doing so will cost us thousands of dollars in labor and production. If we are to clear timber, it will take at least two to five growing seasons (2-5 years) to cultivate the land to where it is productive. In those years, we take a huge loss financially in already limited net funds.
Please consider the immense impact on livestock, wildlife, and the environment a bypass through our farm will create. The amount of farmland in the City of Mount Juliet is dwindling down at an alarming rate. Our City’s wildlife need a safe haven. Last year alone, this farm housed over twenty-six deer, countless wild turkeys, red-tail hawks and other birds of prey, native and migratory birds, coyotes, foxes, opossums, racoons, squirrels, chipmunks, groundhogs, and the list goes on. These animals need a place to reproduce, feed, and thrive. Our farm provides that and more with woodlands, croplands, natural waterways, and ponds. More traffic to the area would further encroach on our wildlife’s limited habitats. Traffic accidents due to head-on wildlife collisions would result due to animals attempting to cross paths they have created for decades. Water supplies would diminish leading to dehydration and starvation. Run-off water could flood fields, erode soil, and pollute waterways. All of which devastate the environment. Increased traffic yields increased pollution. Livestock and wildlife have the increased risk of ingesting toxic foreign material. As such leading to sickness, loss, and death. Every day we pick up broken glass bottles, plastic waste, and trash at our farms on Lebanon Road. We know first-hand just how devastating highway waste negatively impacts animals.
By dividing our farm, we have to cross yet another highway with large, slow-moving tractors, trailers, trucks, and farm equipment. Imagine the immense danger we are in while driving in fast moving, high traffic areas. Countless farmers are killed each year in traffic accidents. We are six and seven generation family farmers. A single loss in the family due to a lethal traffic accident would not only drive a stake through our hearts, but could be the end of a long era of 233 years of family farming. Not only that, please consider the lives of those on the other end of a tractor collision. The City could be responsible for erecting a road that ultimately ended the life of a family’s three-year-old daughter or six-month old son yet to see his very first Christmas.
Please consider the impact on the community by dividing our City’s historical land. How many cities can boast that they house multiple Century and multi-generational farms? Wilson County alone has the highest number of Century Farms in the State. Our City and our County were founded on family farms and agriculture. A plow, a sheaf of wheat, and a cotton plant above the word “Agriculture” are depicted within the Tennessee State Seal. Once history is erased, you can never get it back.
We are trying our best to stay a part of this community. Katie and Brian Bates, who manage half of our farms, have started the Southern Rhythm Farm Festival. This is an agricultural education event designed for the community to provide a place where children and adults can spend time with plants, animals, and all aspects of farming. We want to help mend the gap of those distant and near to farming by providing a fun, interactive, family-friendly event to share stories, facts and knowledge. During its initial launch, we counted over 1200 individuals in one day. This farm helps to ensure the longevity of this and many more events yet to come.
On behalf of my entire family, we hope that you now see just how much this land means to us and the community. Please forward this letter and petition onto any party that may be of benefit. If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to me by email at andy.ligon90@gmail.com. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Dr. Andy Ligon
Associate Veterinarian
Tennessee Equine Hospital, North
--
*About the petition writer*
My Name is Erica Wright. My husband and I have our own family farm in Henry Tennessee. Although we are in our infancy, protecting this farm also helps protect other family farms in the future should this happen again. We are here and we will fight with you.
2,476
Petition created on December 29, 2022