Non Technical Summary
Arcadia'sVeteran Farmer Training, Incubation, and Technical Assistance (VFTITA) launches veterans into careers in agriculture and supports them after they start farming. We help them acquire farming and business skills; provide access to incubator farm plots for low-cost, low-risk real-world operational experience; and offer ongoing training, technical assistance, and support as they establish their businesses. The program meets participants wherever they are in their development, and supports their continued growth as they begin to farm. The VFTITA specifically accommodates veterans' needs, experiences, and schedules, which can include ongoing military duties, retirement briefings, and medical treatment, while leveraging their culture of service, teamwork, and discipline.The goal of VFTITA is to increase the number of military veterans operating new, successful farm operations, and to support veterans as they establish and operate their farm businesses. Our program focuses on veterans, current military members, and their families, with a three-year goal to train 84 beginning farmers, enroll and support 10 farmers in our Veteran Farm Incubator, and increase the success rate of an additional 150 veteran farmers through workshops, technical assistance, and other support. During the three-year grant period, we aim for 25 participants and graduates to begin farming full- or part-time.

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
102	0199	1060	10%
204	1499	1060	10%
205	1499	1060	10%
216	3199	1130	10%
401	5299	3100	10%
402	5399	3100	10%
601	6199	3010	10%
602	6030	3100	10%
604	6299	3010	10%
723	6099	3100	10%

Knowledge Area
401 - Structures, Facilities, and General Purpose Farm Supplies; 601 - Economics of Agricultural Production and Farm Management; 602 - Business Management, Finance, and Taxation; 204 - Plant Product Quality and Utility (Preharvest); 102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships; 205 - Plant Management Systems; 216 - Integrated Pest Management Systems; 604 - Marketing and Distribution Practices; 723 - Hazards to Human Health and Safety; 402 - Engineering Systems and Equipment;

Subject Of Investigation
1499 - Vegetables, general/other; 6199 - Economy, general/other; 5299 - Agricultural supplies, general/other; 3199 - Invertebrates, general/other; 5399 - Structures, facilities, and equipment, general/other; 0199 - Soil and land, general; 6099 - People and communities, general/other; 6030 - The farm as an enterprise; 6299 - Marketing, general/other;

Field Of Science
1060 - Biology (whole systems); 1130 - Entomology and acarology; 3010 - Economics; 3100 - Management;

Goals / Objectives
Program Goal: The VFTITA will increase the number of military veterans operating new, successful farm operations and support veteran beginning farmers as they launch and operate their businesses. Our program focuses on veterans, current military members, and their families, with a three-year goal to train 84 potential farmers, enroll 10 farmers in our Veteran Farm Incubator, and improve the success rate of an additional 150 veteran farmers through workshops, technical assistance, and other support. We aim for 25 participants and graduates to begin farming full- or part-time during the grant period. The Veteran Farmer Program will work toward this goal through three objectives.Objective 1: Hands-On Veteran Farmer Training for Beginning Veteran FarmersArcadia operates two farmer-training tracks: The Veteran Farmer Reserve (Reserve) - a part-time, one-year program; and the Veteran Farm Fellowship (Fellowship) a nine-month, on-the-job training program. The Reserve and Fellowship provide hands-on and classroom training for beginning veteran farmers in the farm production, business, and entrepreneurial skills needed to start and operate a successful operation. We will train at least 75 Reserve participants and nine Fellows throughout this grant period.Objective 2: Veteran Farm Incubator: Land Access & Business Support Arcadia operates a farm incubator for graduates of our training programs. Incubator Farmers receive access to 0.125-0.25 acre parcels on Arcadia Farm, and can use Arcadia's farm infrastructure, receive mentorship from Arcadia staff, participate in additional training and technical assistance, and leverage our market access and support. We will support 10 Incubator Farmers during the grant period.Objective 3: Technical Assistance and Support for Working Veteran FarmersArcadia will provide technical assistance, and production and business management training to the graduates of our programming and to other veteran farmers throughout Virginia and across the country through on-site and off-site workshops, and on-line educational programming. Our Business Trainers will provide two annual webinars to 25 veteran farmers (150 throughout the grant period) from around the country. Project collaborators will provide an additional 30 workshops on various production and business operation topics to 150 farmers throughout the project period.Proposed Project Outcomes Increase the number of new veteran farmersIncrease the number of new veteran farm operationsImprove ability of veteran farmers to respond to market changes for long-term viabilityIncrease the Business Readiness of new veteran farmersIncrease the Business Management knowledge of veteran farmers

Project Methods
VFTITA launches veterans into careers in agriculture and supports them after they get started. We help them acquire basic farming and business skills; provide access to incubator farm plots; and offer ongoing technical assistance and support as they establish their businesses. The program meets participants wherever they are in their agricultural and business development and supports their continued growth as they begin to farm. The VFTITA specifically accommodates veterans' ongoing military duties, retirement briefings, and medical treatment, while leveraging their culture of service, teamwork, and discipline.Veteran Farmer Training Since 2015, Arcadia has trained more than 220 veterans to farm, drawing participants from all over the nation with hands-on, professional training. Our record is strong: In a longitudinal evaluation conducted in 2022, 73% of the 75 veterans we trained between 2019 and 2022 were involved in an agriculturally related venture, either of their own or working with someone else.Veteran Farmer Reserve - Fundamental Farming and Business Skills The Veteran Farmer Reserve takes is based on the military reserve, combining 12 monthly, intensive training weekends with home study assignments. This schedule allows participants to maintain full-time jobs, including active duty, attend school, or undergo medical treatment while they train.The VFTITA will train at least 25 Reservists per year through hands-on field training at Arcadia Farm, field trips to a diversity of farms throughout the region, and classroom instruction on topics ranging from soil fertility and pest control to business management and marketing. Arcadia Staff instruction is supplemented with farm visits and contracted instructors, including farmers, academics, USDA staff, Farm Credit, Cooperative Extension, and other experts. The training curriculum meets participants at their experience level and gives them farm-specific skills to start and grow their new careers.Project collaborator Shane LaBrake will provide annual two-day programs in tractor and equipment maintenance, safety, and operation. Business trainers, Poppy Davis and Winona Doris, will provide two in-person business management seminars in the spring and fall of each year, with 6 online training modules scheduled between the in-person sessions. The business training provides a sound foundation for the long-term financial success of beginning farmers.Veteran Farm Fellowship - Intensive, on-the-job training The Fellowship is nine months of full or part-time hands-on training on Arcadia's five-acre Production Farm, certified by the VAas an On-The-Job training program that qualifies for GI Bill benefits. Fellows also participate in the Reserve. Each Fellow completes an independent study project and participates in monthly management rotations for various farm operations, including the wash station and the greenhouse - providing real-world management experience.In addition to the paid Fellowship positions, we also serve as an on-the-job training site for the Department of Defense SkillBridge and Army Career Skills Program (CSP). These programs allow transitioning members of the military to gain valuable on-the-job training with employers during the last three-six months of their service. These Fellows are still paid by the DOD while working on our farm. To date, we have trained five SkillBridge and one CSP Fellow. We will continue to offer SkillBridge and CSP positions as part of our Veteran Farm Fellowship in addition to the positions directly funded through this proposal.Off-Farm Training: To enrich the overall learning experience, VFTITA encourages and enables participation in external educational seminars, workshops, and training by supporting registration and travel fees. Examples include outside courses in agroforestry, beekeeping, permaculture, and local and regional farming conferences. Trainees may also participate in chicken processing at a partner farm, and in regional farmer-led, on-farm workshops.Veteran Farm IncubatorArcadia's Veteran Farm Incubator is open to graduates of the Fellowship and Reserve, and other trained veterans on a case-by-case basis. Incubator Farmers lease a 0.125-acre plot on Arcadia Farm for three years at $250/year to launch independent farm businesses. Arcadia provides technical assistance, training, mentorship, and market support. In addition to land, incubator farmers have access to shared water; irrigation lines to each plot; cold storage; office space; Wi-Fi; a wash station; greenhouse; perimeter deer fencing; and shared tools and equipment. We also support incubator farmers who are interested in beekeeping and other non-in-ground farming. Incubator Farmers develop their businesses, build capital, gain experience, look for land, and learn from success and failure in a low-stakes environment. Farmers may scale up their operations in subsequent seasons if they demonstrate successful management.Beginning in 2024, we will open free, smaller growing spaces on our new Community Farm. The Community Farm provides garden-scale production space for socially disadvantaged members of our community and members of the veteran community we serve. Each participant is provided with up to two 4x16 foot raised beds with access to tools, water, mentorship, and training from our Community Farm Manager and Farm Education staff. We have found that a number of program graduates are unable to commit to managing 1/8 acre while holding down a full-time job, but they are still interested in putting their learning to work while planning for the transition to a farming career.During the three-year incubation, we help each farmer polish their business and marketing plans. The Incubator Farmers can receive direct TA from Poppy Davis, Winona Doris and other professionals they will need throughout their careers: attorneys, insurance agents, real estate agents, and marketing consultants. We also help each farmer to identify a transition plan to a long-term farm site.Arcadia currently has seven Incubator Farmers operating seven farm businesses. We will add two to three incubator farmers per year, and possibly more if they form partnerships or launch operations that do not require traditional plots (bees, mushrooms, hops, etc.). We expect at least two new Incubator Farmers each year throughout the grant period with 2 graduating each year.Technical Assistance and SupportBusiness-Focused: After launching their operations, our graduates often seek additional business-specific support. Poppy Davis and Winona Doris will provide one-on-one TA to program graduates. Additionally, they will offer two annual Business webinars to Arcadia graduates and other veteran farmers around the country with recruitment supported by peer veteran-focused training programs. One webinar will cover disaster preparedness, including a detailed checklist to help farmers and ranchers evaluate every aspect of their operations and consider how to harden physical infrastructure, develop safety plans, train workers, and secure critical documents to prepare for flood, fire, and other natural disasters. The second will address managing for long term profitability and financial sustainability. This session will focus on how to understand measures of long-term profitability and how to understand investments in appreciating and depreciating assets in a farm and ranch business plan.Shane LaBrake, Veteran Compost, Arcadia personnel, and other project partners will provide 30 additional training opportunities for 150 veterans now farming professionally. These programs will be a mix of online and in-person, on-farm and off-farm training.American Farmland Trust will provide an annual series of land access workshops using their proven training curriculum. In addition, AFT staff will be available for one-on-one TA for program participants and graduates as they navigate various land tenure and access issues.