I sit at the lunch table knowing my food is getting cold, too busy writing to eat. My two table mates are eager to tell me their stories. They are both veterans, attending an Armed to Farm training for beginning farmers. One went out of her way to welcome me, fetching a chair from a nearby table.
Mary Martinez Rigo, 64, is older than most of the other attendees. She and her husband rehabilitated a former pine forest in Virginia into pasture for alpacas by literally drilling nutrients into the compacted clay. Her husband’s health is declining and she is at Armed to Farm with an eye to the future.
“I don’t want to give it up, and am looking to age gracefully in place as a farmer and a veteran,” she said. “I am looking to pivot from production to offering workshops.”
This November event was the 54th Armed to Farm, a program of the nonprofit National Center for Appropriate Technology. NCAT was founded during the energy crisis of the 1970s to develop energy saving strategies for underserved communities. In 1987, NCAT expanded its mission to include sustainable agriculture.
The week-long training events combine classroom instruction with in-depth farm tours. Experts, some of them veterans themselves, present on beekeeping, marketing, soil health, and agricultural law in the mornings. Afternoon tours provide for a close inspection of thriving small-scale agriculture operations and the chance to ask practitioners specific questions.
Participants begin by discerning goals for their farm. During the week they explore enterprises that could meet those goals. Some are aiming for profitability while others are seeking to be self-sufficient, grow a community garden in order to donate food, or operate a farm that trains other veterans.
The farm visits at the November event, held in Berea, Kentucky, exposed the group to aquaponics, horticulture, beekeeping, fruit and nut production, goat tending, retail operations, and seed saving. The Berea College Forest hosted a session on horse logging that drew a lot of interest.
Towanda Farrington got involved in farming through an equine program for veterans. She found that being outdoors and caring for animals helped her PTSD. She plans to operate her Mississippi-based vegetable and herb enterprises the old-fashioned way.
“I want to use a plow horse on my farm,” she said. “I got my horse from the Humane Society and like nurturing him as he nurtures me.”
Piloted in 2013 and launched in 2015, the Armed to Farm program has welcomed participants from 46 states. It has also proven highly successful; 83% of its thousands of graduates remain involved in farming. Some have gone on to leadership in community food system work.
Participants in this program gain much more than knowledge. Veterans face unique challenges, and being in a group with their former military peers creates an instant community. Participants feel safe to share their military experience in this nurturing environment, and program leaders are intent on accommodating their special needs.
Sean Judge was in a pivotal place in June 2019 when he attended his first Armed to Farm. With a PTSD diagnosis and recent surgeries to remove a tumor from his spinal cord, his physical restrictions dictated that he walk slowly and carry nothing over five pounds. Regardless, he felt like a full participant in the event.
“They asked about accommodations on the application and found a way for me to attend,” he said. “They never let go of me, even though they knew it would take a little bit for me to get there.”
Some attendees don’t know any other veterans interested in agriculture before Armed to Farm. They meet the teaching staff of NCAT, five of whom are veterans, who act as mentors and guides, and emerge connected to a supportive network they can call on in the months and years to come.
“Veterans having their own program is one of the biggest factors in [Armed to Farm’s] long-term success,” said Mike Lewis, a veteran and NCAT staff member. “I get at least four texts a week from graduates reaching out or asking technical farming questions.”
Veterans continue to benefit from NCAT resources after their Armed to Farm experience. Each receives a stack of books and pamphlets to take home, and can take advantage of networking and virtual learning opportunities. The advanced Armed to Farm 2.0 events provide a deeper dive into the business aspects of farming and scaling up production.
NCAT developed and operates Armed to Farm through a cooperative agreement with USDA-Rural Development. Each event relies on organizational partners for expertise and funding. Nonprofit Ranchin’ Vets offers a transportation stipend to participants. The Berea event was in partnership with Kentucky State University under one of their grant programs.
Looking to the future, Armed to Farm leaders hope to expand its reach. They are working on offering more enterprise-specific trainings, and hosting a tribal-focused Armed to Farm event.
This article first appeared on The Daily Yonder and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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Previously Published on dailyyonder.com with Creative Commons License
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