KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The University of Tennessee’s five-year-old Organic Crop Unit is being ranked among the best programs in the country for teaching students how to farm organic.

The Knoxville News Sentinel is reporting the Santa Cruz, Calif.-based Organic Farming Research Foundation has ranked UT’s program among the six best in the nation for teaching students how to grow crops that meet USDA organic standards. UT’s program was the newest one to be named by the foundation’s first-ever Organic Land Grant Assessment.

The foundation judged programs by whether they offered organic crop production classes and dedicated faculty members, had a farm that allowed for students to get hands-on experience and offered an internship program.

“There’s no money with that, just fame,” said Annette Wszelaki, an assistant professor and UT extension specialist. “We got a perfect score on their eight criteria.”

In addition to growing the crops, the students learn the business side of organic farming, she said. 

The students sell the organic product at the UT Farmers’ Market. UT’s booth is attracting more people than ever; however, the sales so far haven’t been able to cover the interns’ $8.50 per-hour wages. Students will probably get a tuition stipend instead of the cash next year, Wszelaki said.

Organic farming in Tennessee is starting to attract interest. The number of organic farms across the state has doubled from 23 to 47 since 2008, she said. And the organics program at UT has attracted students from all over the campus, not just those studying agriculture.

Jordan Norton, a 22-year-old environmental studies major who is an organics program intern, is one of them.

“I like plants. I know weeds better now, so that’s been a big help. This is pigweed,” he said, holding a clump of green. “Probably in the future at some point I’d like to own a little piece of land.”