‘Everywhere You Look, UT’ Mural in Rhea County Highlights University’s Role in Supporting Tennessee Farmers

SPRING CITY — In 2019, the University of Tennessee Extension helped farmer Jason Lancaster build the L&C Cattle Co. barn in Rhea County through the Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program. Today, the barn hosts the 56th mural of the “Everywhere You Look, UT” campaign.

UT’s statewide campaign promotes the University’s presence with an aim to paint one mural in every county by 2030.

The 47-foot-wide L&C Cattle Co. barn is located off Tennessee State Route 68 near the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant and sees an estimated 2,713 passersby every day.

“Even in a little community like this, the University of Tennessee still has a hand,” Lancaster said.

As a lifelong fan of the Tennessee Volunteers, Lancaster was interested in joining the campaign upon learning about it through a mural story broadcast on WVLT-TV. He hopes the mural helps the Rhea County community understand that UT’s mission goes beyond what many expect of a higher education institution.

“The roots of UT are helping farmers, which are helping to feed America,” he said. “Feeding Volunteers, feeding people of Tennessee.”

Lancaster’s wife, Brandalyn Lancaster, detailed the significant role UT played in helping her family farm and other farmers in the community.

“In this day and time, farming is a not-so-popular way of life, but the UT Extension office is doing great things to help promote how rewarding farming can be and how necessary it is,” she said. “We are so thankful that the University of Tennessee really cares about the agriculture industry. To be able to display the mural on our barn is a tremendous honor not only for ourselves but for the generations that come after us.”

The newest mural in Spring City, painted by muralist Michael Cooper, marks county number 52 of the “Everywhere You Look, UT” campaign. This campaign aims to paint a mural in each of

Tennessee’s 95 counties by 2030. Since its launch in 2018, the campaign has created 56 total murals across the state. The University covers the cost of the first mural in each county.

To learn more about the “Everywhere You Look, UT” mural in Rhea County or to submit a location for consideration, visit the campaign website.

The University of Tennessee is a statewide system of higher education with campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Pulaski, Martin and Memphis; the UT Institute of Agriculture with a presence in every Tennessee county; and the statewide Institute for Public Service. The UT System manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory through its UT-Battelle partnership; enrolls about 58,000 students statewide; produces about 13,000 new graduates every year; and represents more than 445,000 alumni around the world.