Agriculture is turning to veterans in hopes of replacing the aging population of U.S. farmers. In Valley Center, Calif., Colin Archipley, a decorated Marine infantry sergeant turned organic farmer, has developed a program with his wife to teach veterans and active military personnel the basics of farming in hopes they might pursue the career following their service time, Patricia Leigh Brown of The New York Times reports. "Along with 'Combat Boots to Cowboy Boots,' a new program for veterans at the University of Nebraska’s College of Technical Agriculture, and farming fellowships for wounded soldiers, the six-week course offered here is part of a nascent 'veteran-centric' farming movement," Brown writes.
"The military is not for the faint of heart, and farming isn’t either," said Michael O’Gorman, an organic farmer who founded the nonprofit Farmer-Veteran Coalition, which supports sustainable-agriculture training. "There are eight times as many farmers over age 65 as under. There is a tremendous need for young farmers, and a big wave of young people inspired to go into the service who are coming home." Military personnel are an ideal target for farming as about 45 percent of the military comes from rural communities, which account for one-sixth of the country's total population, The Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire reports. (NYT photo by Sandy Huffaker: Sgt. Matt Holzmann and Stephanie De Alba laying irrigation piping at Archipley's farm)
"In the military, grunts are the guys who get dirty, do the work and are generally underappreciated," Archipley told Brown. "I think farmers are the same." The syllabus for Archipley's program, provided by nearby Camp Pendleton's transition assistance program, "includes hands-on planting and irrigating, lectures about 'high-value niche markets' and production of a business plan that is assessed by food professionals and business professors," Brown writes. The course costs $4,500 and is administered through MiraCosta College, though Camp Pendleton offers assistance for active duty Marines. "It allows them to be physically active, be part of a unit," Archipley said of the purpose farming gives veterans. "It gives them a mission statement — a responsibility to the consumer eating their food." (Read more)
"In the military, grunts are the guys who get dirty, do the work and are generally underappreciated," Archipley told Brown. "I think farmers are the same." The syllabus for Archipley's program, provided by nearby Camp Pendleton's transition assistance program, "includes hands-on planting and irrigating, lectures about 'high-value niche markets' and production of a business plan that is assessed by food professionals and business professors," Brown writes. The course costs $4,500 and is administered through MiraCosta College, though Camp Pendleton offers assistance for active duty Marines. "It allows them to be physically active, be part of a unit," Archipley said of the purpose farming gives veterans. "It gives them a mission statement — a responsibility to the consumer eating their food." (Read more)
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