NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's gubernatorial candidates are often keen to tout their support for farmers and rural communities as they campaign around the state. But former state Sen. Mae Beavers says she can outdo any of her rivals in terms of hands-on experience.

The Mt. Juliet Republican said at a forum hosted by the Future Farmers of America on Monday that she and her husband, Jerry, operated a farm for six years after they moved to Wilson County in the 1970s. Beavers recalled picking up hay and "holding pigs while my husband cut them."

Beavers's comments are reminiscent of a 2014 ad by Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa in which she boasted about castrating pigs and promised to cut the pork in Washington and "make 'em squeal."