March 13, 2012

While some veterans returning home have jobs waiting for them, many do not and are returning to rural areas where jobs can be scarce. The USDA Risk Management Agency has funded the Veteran Farmers Project to help veterans explore ag opportunities. The project includes the Center for Rural Affairs, Farmer-Veteran Coalition, Nebraska AgrAbility Project, and eight other organizations.

"The long-term goal for this project is to help new veteran farmers and ranchers successfully establish farms and ranches in Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado and Missouri," said Kathie Starkweather, rural opportunities program director with the Center for Rural Affairs.

According to Starkweather, the project will allow veterans to learn strategies and implement plans for farm/ranch start-up. It will cover financing, land access, and business development. Veterans also will learn to access the resources available to them for technical assistance, production and marketing information, and mentoring.

Upcoming Workshops

In March the Center for Rural Affairs and its partner organizations will hold educational workshops to provide information and introduce resources on specialty crops, livestock, land access, financing, crop insurance, production and marketing high value crops, and resources for beginners, veterans, and the disabled.

In Nebraska, workshops will be held Thursday, March 22 at UNL's Agricultural Research and Development Center near Mead and on Friday, March 23 at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis. While the programs are designed for veterans who would like to pursue farming or ranching opportunities, anyone interested in the programs is welcome.

Later in the year participants will tour sustainable grain farms and vegetable and livestock operations and view presentations on organic certification, production techniques, and marketing. Individual consultations with professionals in finance and production agriculture are included and a help line will provide ongoing information and support.

More Information

For details about the workshops, contact Sharry Nielsen with UNL Extension and the Nebraska AgrAbility Project, snielsen1@unl.edu, or Kathie Starkweather, kathies@cfra.org. 

For more information on the program or the Kansas workshop sites, visit the Veteran Farmers Project page on the Center for Rural Affairs website.

Sharry Nielsen
Extension Educator with the Nebraska AgrAbility Project