Have you transitioned out of the military or are you getting ready to transition and still deciding what you want to do as a second career? Ever thought about working in an agricultural related job or starting a farm business? Farm Ops, the Cornell Small Farms Program’s veteran project, assists veterans in exploring agricultural and farming pursuits.
Farm Ops is building the 2023-24 Starting at Square One Veteran Cohort. This cohort will bring together a group of veterans interested in agriculture or starting a farm business to progress through an educational construct to support them in this exploration and decision-making process.
Cohort participants will receive free enrollment into the Cornell Small Farms Program’s Starting at Square One online course. This six-week course will help veterans think about starting a farm business. Filled with videos and worksheets, this course assists new and aspiring farmers in taking first steps in thinking about a farm business. Students enrolled in this course meet virtually once a week on Thursdays from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. from September 21 through October 26, 2023 with the course instructor.
Once the Starting at Square One online course is complete, veterans will meet for a series of virtual seminars, taking what they learned and wrote down and turning it into a farm plan that can be executed the following year or when the veteran is ready. For those veterans ready to take the follow-on steps, virtual sessions on “Setting Up a Farm Business” will be available. Facilitators will help veterans assess their needs and work with veterans to find additional resources and possible in-person or virtual one-one-on support sessions. Apply at https://tinyurl.com/v9vpryxk.
During the cohort period, Farm Ops has partnered with the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) to sponsor an Armed to Farm event October 16 through 20, 2023, in the Hudson Valley region of NYS. Many NYS farmer veterans who have attended this weeklong event, came away feeling more confident in their decision to start or continue to farm. Veterans will spend part of the week in a classroom setting, learning about farm business strategies, farming resources, and so much more. They will also visit multiple local farms to learn how other farmers got started in agriculture and to see the variety of farming opportunities available in NYS and the larger U.S. northeast region.
Learn more about Armed to Farm events at https://www.armedtofarm.org. Although Armed to Farm falls within timeframe of the Starting at Square One online course, being involved in both is recommended.
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