Progress 09/01/24 to 08/31/25
Outputs
Target Audience:Farmer Veteran coalition work with transitioning service members who are interested in going into careers in pursuing careers in agriculture. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? In 2025, the Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) was able to offer professional development opportunities through partnerships with five program providers, offering Military Veterans diverse opportunities to explore and advance careers in agriculture. At the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship program, veterans engaged in coursework on milk quality, dairy cattle nutrition, feeds and feeding, and holistic farming systems, complemented by a farm visit to an Army Veteran-owned creamery in Annapolis. FVC staff once again visited Archi's Institute in Escondido, CA, where veterans completed 240 hours of hydroponic training and developed innovative business plans. Meanwhile, FVC welcomed Veterans Produce as its newest partner and had the opportunity to visit in the fall of 2024. Veterans Produce provides hydroponic and aquaponic training that equips participants with skills in water systems, plant science, pest management, and greenhouse operations--critical knowledge for sustainable food production. Additional highlights of 2025 included support for BattleGround Breaking Ground, where FVC staff attended a January graduation ceremony in College Station, TX, celebrating veterans who completed hands-on agricultural training, mentorship, and business planning support. In May and July of 2025, FVC staff visited the Rodale Institute in Kutztown, PA, meeting with veteran students pursuing organic farming education while emphasizing healing the soil and building community resilience. Across these programs, veterans expressed how agricultural training has provided them with renewed purpose, technical expertise, and pathways toward entrepreneurship. By investing in these experiences throughout 2025, FVC not only expanded professional opportunities for veterans but also helped foster a new generation of agricultural leaders committed to sustainability and community well-being. FVC continues to provide case management for participants utilizing feedback from a variety of sources including program participants, training program leaders and by furthering our own knowledge of agricultural training and career programs. Program participants become members of FVC and have access to our call center and other resources long after they complete their programs, adding to the continuum care that FVC seeks to provide. Additionally, program participants were able to develop relationships with their cohorts and program staff. These staff helped keep FVC abreast of student needs. Each program participant has the opportunity to become an FVC member which long after the grant ends allows them to: become members of state chapters, participant in FVC's national conference, and in the future once they've started their own operations to participate in FVC's microgrant program called Fellowship Fund. The support of program participants will continue. These are just a few of the resources that program participants have access to me as members of the FVC community. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Dissemination of program results has been broad and intentional. FVC partnered with Gary Bess and Associates to evaluate effectiveness through pre- and post-program assessments, as well as alumni surveys conducted six months post-completion to track long-term outcomes. Findings and success stories have been shared through digital platforms, including targeted emails, webinars, social media campaigns, and program-specific videos--collectively reaching tens of thousands of veterans nationwide. Partners such as Rodale Institute and BattleGround to Breaking Ground reported increased veteran enrollment and engagement, demonstrating how evaluation data and participant feedback are already informing future program improvements. By combining formal evaluation with the voices of participating veterans, FVC has ensured that both outcomes and personal impact are documented, disseminated, and leveraged to build stronger agricultural pathways for veterans across the country. The Veterans Farming Through Adversity (AgVets) program has had a measurable and lasting impact on veterans by connecting them with agricultural training, career pathways, and supportive services that align with USDA's Strategic Goal 4 to promote rural prosperity and economic development. In partnership with five agricultural training programs--Archi's Institute, Rodale Institute, Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship, BattleGround to Breaking Ground, and Veterans Produce--FVC provided veterans with access to both technical education and business training. Survey results confirm this impact: 100% of graduates reported that the program increased their awareness of agricultural career opportunities, while 94.1% indicated they felt prepared to meet short-term goals. Graduate surveys also reflected high satisfaction, with a mean score of 4.56 for FVC's helpfulness in supporting participants to complete their programs successfully. Beyond quantitative data, participants expressed that the program gave them "a better understanding of how they can help vets" through education, resource access, networking, and awareness of financial support for beginning farmers. Many described how they gained the knowledge, resources, and confidence needed to pursue their personal and professional goals, from "learning about dairy cow grazing and management" to securing "the proper financial assistance to build up my agricultural business and obtain a hydroponic facility." The program's impact is also visible in veterans' personal reflections, which highlight its role in fostering resilience, purpose, and community. One veteran noted, "I really just wanted to learn more about agribusiness so that I could find a way to feel like a productive member of society again." Others emphasized how the program allowed them to "complete the Archi's Acres course and continue building out our farming operation," "connect with other like-minded farmers to follow my dreams of farming," and "gain enough applicable knowledge to be successful in executing our agricultural plan and meet our goals." These lived experiences reflect how AgVets not only builds technical skills but also strengthens veterans' sense of identity and community connection. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Although this was the final year of the program Farmer Veteran Coalition will continue to collaborate with our AgVets partner to ensure that farmer Veterans have agricultural training opportunities.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1: Increase veterans' awareness of career opportunities in agriculture Objective: Employ a minimum of five diverse community outreach and marketing strategies to increase veterans' awareness of FVC's AgVets programs and partnered apprenticeship opportunities. During year four of the AgVets program (2024-2025), FVC strengthened its outreach and awareness-building efforts by engaging its more than 55,000 members through diverse marketing strategies. We continued to utilize our call center and Salesforce CRM to connect veterans with agricultural career opportunities, while expanding our database of resources and apprenticeship options to provide timely, accurate information. In alignment with our digital marketing plan, FVC promoted each partner program through targeted emails, webinars, social media campaigns, and videos. For example, five program-specific videos highlighting our partners--Rodale Institute, Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship, Archi's Institute, BattleGround to Breaking Ground, and Veterans Produce--were released in June 2025 and collectively gained hundreds of views, further amplifying awareness. Rodale video Uploaded on June 9, 2025, currently has 59 views https://youtu.be/dxucjbHiqgU?feature=shared DGA video Uploaded on June 9, 2025, currently has 51 views https://youtu.be/SvCEFvr1cMU?feature=shared Archi's Institute video Uploaded on June 9, 2025, currently has 25 views. https://youtu.be/uztWx6gjEMU?feature=shared BGBG video Uploaded on Jun 9, 2025, currently has 28 views. https://youtu.be/YaR0t3CN2f8?feature=shared Veterans Produce video Uploaded on June 9, 2025, currently has 62 views https://youtu.be/Ygk-FStMQn4?feature=shared Social media and email campaigns produced measurable results. Rodale Institute's program outreach alone generated more than 11,000 views and nearly 22,000 email opens, while Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship and Archi's Institute saw thousands of impressions and clicks through digital campaigns. Webinars, such as the April 2025 BGBG FSA webinar with over 1,100 views, created additional touchpoints for veterans to learn about agricultural training opportunities. These strategies represent more than five distinct methods--videos, social media posts, targeted emails, webinars, conference promotion, and partner collaboration--demonstrating significant progress in expanding veterans' awareness of agricultural career pathways. Goal 2: Increase the number of successful veteran applications to partnered agricultural apprenticeship programs Objective: Provide support and guidance for a minimum of 150 veterans each year that express interest in one or more apprenticeship programs, from initial inquiry through the application stage. In the final year of the program, FVC guided hundreds of veterans through outreach and inquiry, resulting in 35 participants successfully securing placements in one of our five partner programs. This outcome reflects targeted case management, direct staff engagement, and ongoing collaboration with program leaders to ensure veterans had clear application pathways. FVC staff also conducted site visits--including to Veterans Produce in fall 2025--to meet with participants, gather feedback, and share their stories. These visits not only strengthened relationships with partners but also served as an additional means of supporting veterans from inquiry through enrollment.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/29/25
Outputs
Target Audience:Farner Veteran Coalition works with transitioning service members and military veterans who are interested in pursuing careers in agriculture. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In 2025, the Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) provided opportunities for professional development through partnerships with five program providers, offering Military Veterans diverse opportunities to explore and advance careers in agriculture. At the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship program, veterans engaged in coursework on milk quality, dairy cattle nutrition, feeds and feeding, and holistic farming systems, complemented by a farm visit to an Army Veteran-owned creamery in Annapolis. FVC staff once again visited Archi's Institute in Escondido, CA, where veterans completed 240 hours of hydroponic training and developed innovative business plans. Meanwhile, FVC welcomed Veterans Produce as its newest partner and had the opportunity to visit in the fall of 2024. Veterans Produce provides hydroponic and aquaponic training that equips participants with skills in water systems, plant science, pest management, and greenhouse operations--critical knowledge for sustainable food production. Additional highlights of 2025 included support for BattleGround Breaking Ground, where FVC staff attended a January graduation ceremony in College Station, TX, celebrating veterans who completed hands-on agricultural training, mentorship, and business planning support. In May and July of 2025, FVC staff visited the Rodale Institute in Kutztown, PA, meeting with veteran students pursuing organic farming education while emphasizing healing the soil and building community resilience. Across these programs, veterans expressed how agricultural training has provided them with renewed purpose, technical expertise, and pathways toward entrepreneurship. By investing in these experiences throughout 2025, FVC not only expanded professional opportunities for veterans but also helped foster a new generation of agricultural leaders committed to sustainability and community well-being. FVC continues to provide case management for participants utilizing feedback from a variety of sources including program participants, training program leaders and by furthering our own knowledge of agricultural training and career programs. Program participants become members of FVC and have access to our call center and other resources long after they complete their programs, adding to the continuum care that FVC seeks to provide. Additionally, program participants were able to develop relationships with their cohorts and program staff. These staff helped keep FVC abreast of student needs. Each program participant has the opportunity to become an FVC member which long after the grant ends allows them to: become members of state chapters, participant in FVC's national conference, and in the future once they've started their own operations to participate in FVC's microgrant program called Fellowship Fund. The support of program participants will continue. These are just a few of the resources that program participants have access to me as members of the FVC community. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Dissemination of program results has been broad and intentional. FVC partnered with Gary Bess and Associates to evaluate effectiveness through pre- and post-program assessments, as well as alumni surveys conducted six months post-completion to track long-term outcomes. Findings and success stories have been shared through digital platforms, including targeted emails, webinars, social media campaigns, and program-specific videos--collectively reaching tens of thousands of veterans nationwide. Partners such as Rodale Institute and BattleGround to Breaking Ground reported increased veteran enrollment and engagement, demonstrating how evaluation data and participant feedback are already informing future program improvements. By combining formal evaluation with the voices of participating veterans, FVC has ensured that both outcomes and personal impact are documented, disseminated, and leveraged to build stronger agricultural pathways for veterans across the country. The Veterans Farming Through Adversity (AgVets) program has had a measurable and lasting impact on veterans by connecting them with agricultural training, career pathways, and supportive services that align with USDA's Strategic Goal 4 to promote rural prosperity and economic development. In partnership with five agricultural training programs--Archi's Institute, Rodale Institute, Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship, BattleGround to Breaking Ground, and Veterans Produce--FVC provided veterans with access to both technical education and business training. Survey results confirm this impact: 100% of graduates reported that the program increased their awareness of agricultural career opportunities, while 94.1% indicated they felt prepared to meet short-term goals. Graduate surveys also reflected high satisfaction, with a mean score of 4.56 for FVC's helpfulness in supporting participants to complete their programs successfully. Beyond quantitative data, participants expressed that the program gave them "a better understanding of how they can help vets" through education, resource access, networking, and awareness of financial support for beginning farmers. Many described how they gained the knowledge, resources, and confidence needed to pursue their personal and professional goals, from "learning about dairy cow grazing and management" to securing "the proper financial assistance to build up my agricultural business and obtain a hydroponic facility." The program's impact is also visible in veterans' personal reflections, which highlight its role in fostering resilience, purpose, and community. One veteran noted, "I really just wanted to learn more about agribusiness so that I could find a way to feel like a productive member of society again." Others emphasized how the program allowed them to "complete the Archi's Acres course and continue building out our farming operation," "connect with other like-minded farmers to follow my dreams of farming," and "gain enough applicable knowledge to be successful in executing our agricultural plan and meet our goals." These lived experiences reflect how AgVets not only builds technical skills but also strengthens veterans' sense of identity and community connection. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During year four of the AgVets program (2024-2025), FVC strengthened its outreach and awareness-building efforts by engaging its more than 55,000 members through diverse marketing strategies. We continued to utilize our call center and Salesforce CRM to connect veterans with agricultural career opportunities, while expanding our database of resources and apprenticeship options to provide timely, accurate information. In alignment with our digital marketing plan, FVC promoted each partner program through targeted emails, webinars, social media campaigns, and videos. For example, five program-specific videos highlighting our partners--Rodale Institute, Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship, Archi's Institute, BattleGround to Breaking Ground, and Veterans Produce--were released in June 2025 and collectively gained hundreds of views, further amplifying awareness. Rodale video Uploaded on June 9, 2025, currently has 59 views https://youtu.be/dxucjbHiqgU?feature=shared DGA video Uploaded on June 9, 2025, currently has 51 views https://youtu.be/SvCEFvr1cMU?feature=shared Archi's Institute video Uploaded on June 9, 2025, currently has 25 views. https://youtu.be/uztWx6gjEMU?feature=shared BGBG video Uploaded on Jun 9, 2025, currently has 28 views. https://youtu.be/YaR0t3CN2f8?feature=shared Veterans Produce video Uploaded on June 9, 2025, currently has 62 views https://youtu.be/Ygk-FStMQn4?feature=shared Social media and email campaigns produced measurable results. Rodale Institute's program outreach alone generated more than 11,000 views and nearly 22,000 email opens, while Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship and Archi's Institute saw thousands of impressions and clicks through digital campaigns. Webinars, such as the April 2025 BGBG FSA webinar with over 1,100 views, created additional touchpoints for veterans to learn about agricultural training opportunities. These strategies represent more than five distinct methods--videos, social media posts, targeted emails, webinars, conference promotion, and partner collaboration--demonstrating significant progress in expanding veterans' awareness of agricultural career pathways. Goal 2: Increase the number of successful veteran applications to partnered agricultural apprenticeship programs Objective: Provide support and guidance for a minimum of 150 veterans each year that express interest in one or more apprenticeship programs, from initial inquiry through the application stage. In the final year of the program, FVC guided hundreds of veterans through outreach and inquiry, resulting in 35 participants successfully securing placements in one of our five partner programs. This outcome reflects targeted case management, direct staff engagement, and ongoing collaboration with program leaders to ensure veterans had clear application pathways. FVC staff also conducted site visits--including to Veterans Produce in fall 2025--to meet with participants, gather feedback, and share their stories. These visits not only strengthened relationships with partners but also served as an additional means of supporting veterans from inquiry through enrollment.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24
Outputs
(N/A)
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1:Increase veterans' awareness of career opportunities in agriculture. Objective:Employ a minimum of five diverse community outreach and marketing strategies to increase veterans' awareness of FVC's AgVets programs and partnered apprenticeship opportunities. As Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) wraps up year three of our AgVets program we have continued to strengthen our partnerships with our agricultural training programs: Archi's Institute, Rodale Institute, BattleGround BreakingGround, and Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship. FVC also had the privilege of adding a 5th training Partner, Veterans Produce this grant year. Veteran's Produce is an aquaponics training located in North Central Texas. FVC continues to grow, we now have over 50,000 members! Each year our ability to raise awareness about the ever-growing agricultural apprentice and training programs increases. In our third year of the grant, we continue to utilize our call center and CRM system Salesforce to keep track of a growing list of career opportunities in agriculture, while also continually adding to our database of agricultural training and career resources to have readily on hand when farmer veterans call for information. FVC continues to follow its marketing plan and we continue to utilize a digital marketing plan that includes regularly promoting each training partner's programs on social media, through targeted emails and regular updates on each program's start date and application deadlines. Throughout the year FVC worked with program partners to market their programs through: Webinars: Archi's Institute, September 14, 2023 91 registrants 42 attendees Archi's Institute, August 16, 2024 268 registrants 152 attendees Social media: Archi's Institute September 7, 2023 Facebook post: 6,468 impressions, 5,159 post reach, 621 engagement August 16, 2024 Facebook post: no insights to show for shared posts August 9, 2024 Facebook post: 1,696 impressions, 1,324 post reach, 63 engagement Rodale Institute December 14, 2023 Facebook post: 3,308 impressions, 3,168 post reach, 89 engagement January 22, 2024 Facebook post: 923 impressions, 914 post reach, 45 engagement March 15, 2024 Facebook post: 2,745 impressions, 2,538 post reach, 140 engagement May 13, 2024 Facebook post: 7,004 impressions, 7,004 post reach, 290 engagement July 11, 2024 Facebook post: no insights to show for shared posts Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship December 12, 2023 Facebook post: 3,196 impressions, 3,050 post reach, 89 engagement June 24, 2024 Facebook post: no insights to show for shared posts June 17, 2024 Facebook post: 1,688 impressions, 1,575 post reach, 51 engagement Battleground to Breaking Ground December 5, 2023 Facebook post: 4,573 impressions, 4,315 post reach, 298 engagement Targeted Emails: Archi's Institute September 14, 2023 email: 32k sends, 40.3% open rate (12.3k opens), 0.6% click rate (183 clicks) August 12, 2024 email: 35k sends, 35.6% open rate (11.7k opens), 1.2% click rate (409 clicks) Rodale Institute April 19, 2024 email: 34k sends, 42.4% open rate (13.4k opens), 1.8% click rate (572 clicks) Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship December 12, 2023 email: 33k sends, 38% open rate (11.8k opens), 0.4% click rate (109 clicks) June 17, 2024 email: 34k sends, 39.6% open rate (12.3k opens), 0.5% click rate (169 clicks) Battleground to Breaking Ground December 5, 2023 email: 33k sends, 41.2% open rate (12.8k opens), 2.4% click rate (739 clicks Goal 2:Increase the number of successful veteran applications to partnered agricultural apprenticeship programs. Objective:Provide support and guidance for a minimum of150 veterans each year that express interest in one or more apprenticeship programs, frominitialinquirythrough the application stage. Over 149 veteran applicants applied to the training and apprenticeship programs that FVC partners with. Of those applicants 50 participants secured spots in one the 5 programs that FVC partners with. FVC staff also had the opportunity to meet with students and staff with 4 of the five program partners to hear directly from students and program partners about their experience in the program. . The 5th partner will be visited in the fall. Goal 3:Increase the number of veterans that utilize FVC's supporting resources for improving success in their apprenticeships and post-apprenticeship careers. Objective: Provide customized case management / supportive services for a minimum of 46 veterans each year throughout their apprenticeship program, helping them after completion with the job search and placement process, and through employment. During year 3 FVC provided support for 50 veterans who participated in agricultural training programs that provided courses on agribusiness, soil health, vegetable production, hydro and aquaponics production. • So far 29 students have completed their training program with 12 students who are on track to complete their program this fall. • We are are still conducting follow up surveys with past student and hope to include the number of students who are working in the agriculture field in our final report. • FVC continues to provide case management for participants utilizing feedback from a variety of sources including program participants, training program leaders and by furthering our own knowledge of agricultural training and career programs. Program participants become members of FVC and have access to our call center and other resources long after they complete their programs, adding to the continuum care that FVC seeks to provide. Additionally, program participants were able to develop relationships with their cohorts and program staff. These staff helped keep FVC abreast of student needs. FVC staff also had the opportunity to visit each of the program partners to For example, in a webinar with Rodale Institute, students were able to ask our Grant Manager and Veteran Service provider questions about Veterans Benefits and about utilizing grants and loans to start their own operations. Our Veteran Service Provider shared his story as an Army Veteran who went through a farm training program and then started his own operation. FVC was also able to provide guidance for students who troubleshoot through a technical issue when she was having trouble with her computer. • FVC also continues to update its landing page on the FVC's website that shares information about the AgVets program and provides links to each of the training programs that we partner with. The webpage also includes a plugin for AgCareers jobs so participants can search for jobs in agriculture right from our website.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Farner Veteran coalition works with transitioning service members and military veterans who interested in careers in agriculture. Changes/Problems:In year two Farmer Veteran Coalitionsaw mid year staff changes in our program manager and training coordinator that interrupted our outreach plan. FVC was able to pivot and offer more online outreach while a new training coordinator and program manager onboard. Another challenge that FVC faced was that since the start of the grant training program cost have gone up and we are not able to offer tuition support to as many program participants as anticipated. although we are still able to cover tuition for participants. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During year 2 FVC provided support for 37 veterans who participated in agricultural training programs that provided courses on agribusiness, soil health, vegetable production, hydro and aquaponics production. Interested participants where also introduced to programs that focus on the dairy industry as well. FVC staff has also gone through mental health training as a part of our own staff development so that we can better serve the veterans we are working with. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The monitoring of the AgVets project has been ongoing by its internal team. Key team discussions during year 2 have covered various issues including screening processes, survey development, and the use of Salesforce for tracking participation. AgVets additionally conducts monthly meetings to check-in on partners and gather partner input regarding project progress. These monthly meeting have demonstrated AgVets' commitment to partner feedback/input, which has been used for project modifications/enhancements. Lastly, AgVets staff meets at least twice a month with its program evaluator, Gary Bess Associates, to discuss and review project components and issues such as 1) possible obstacles to project success; 2) weekly survey results; and 3)program updates. Thus far, these meetings have been valuable in developing the monitoring methodology for the project. Gary Bess and Associates has created a report that FVC will share with communities of intersts. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? The AgVets program manager has come up with a robust outreach plan based on meetings with program partners and feedback from program participants, including the addition of office hours where current program participants, future program participants and potential program participants can convene and ask general questions. FVC will also continue to host webinars with each of the program partners to highlight the training programs as well share program participants' experience of the programs. With 2 years of experience under our belt FVC plans on using participant and partner feedback to further tweak the project using feedback from partners and participants so that as the program continues the quality evolves.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This spring FVC redeveloped an internal methodology for gathering and tracking our AgVets grant, as well as planning the grant logistics with new FVC members. When administering the first round of New Student Surveys one AgVet student contacted us with concerns about the personal nature of the questions and they stated valid reasoning why they didn't want to participate in further surveys. FVC staff and Gary Bess & Associates (our Evaluator) immediately met and agreed that we could come up with a personalized solution for the student. The team also made further changes to the New Student Survey using the feedback. Along with the implementation of the student surveys FVC also made strides towards accomplishing each of the our goals. Goal 1: Increase veterans' awareness of career opportunities in agriculture. Objective: Employ a minimum of five diverse community outreach and marketing strategies to increase veterans' awareness of FVC's AgVets programs and partnered apprenticeship opportunities. In the last year FVC has grown to include over 40,000 members with 25 state chapters. As membership at FVC grows so does our capacity to raise awareness on agricultural training programs. Using our call center and CRM system Salesforce we are able to keep track of a growing list of career opportunities in agriculture, continually add to our database of agricultural training and career resources have them readily on hand when farmer veterans call for information. In addition to our in-office outreach we also utilize a digital marketing plan that includes regularly promoting each training partner's programs on social media, through targeted emails and regular updates on each program's start date and application deadlines. This has resulted in post engagements of an average of about 88 people per post, this not include the In November of 2022 FVC shared about the AgVets program at our National Stakeholder conference in Oklahoma March 2023 Farmer Veteran Coalition hosted a webinar with training partner Archi's Acres that included 81 attendees. July 2023 FVC hosted a webinar with partner Dairy Grazers Apprenticeship attended by 33 participants July 2023 FVC attended the Tennessee Cattlemen's Association Stockman in the Smokies Convention to provide outreach to 250 participants July 2023 FVC attended the Veterans Vintage Baseball event and provided outreach and recruitment to 21 participants. Goal 2: Increase the number of successful veteran applications to partnered agricultural apprenticeship programs. Objective: Provide support and guidance for a minimum of 150 veterans each year that express interest in one or more apprenticeship programs, from initial inquiry through the application stage. During year 2 FVC provided support for 37 veterans who participated in agricultural training programs that provided courses on agribusiness, soil health, vegetable production, hydro and aquaponics production. Interested participants where also introduced to programs that focus on the dairy industry as well. 17 students have completed there program and 20 students are on track to complet there progam 7 past students have reported that they are working in agriculture field in areas that include: livestock, conservation, aggregration and starting their own farm Goal 3: Increase the number of veterans that utilize FVC's supporting resources for improving success in their apprenticeships and post-apprenticeship careers. Objective: Provide customized case management / supportive services for a minimum of 46 veterans each year throughout their apprenticeship program, helping them after completion with the job search and placement process, and through to employment. FVC continues to provide case management for participants utilizing feedback from a variety of sources including program participants, training program leaders and by furthering our own knowledge of agricultural training and career programs. FVC staffers also try to stay aware of the whole needs of applicants. For example, in a recent office hour session students were able to ask our AgVets program manager questions directly related to their specific agricultural interests that had not been covered in their training. The event's focus extended to topics such as pasture poultry farming, held over Zoom, this event fostered knowledge exchange and networking within the agricultural community. FVC also added a landing page on the FVC's website that shares information about the AgVets program and provides links to each of the training programs that we partner with. The webpage also includes a plugin for AgCareers jobs so participants can search for jobs in agriculture right from our website.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:Transitioning services members and military veterans interested in careers in agriculture. Changes/Problems:The biggest challenge we faced during year one of the grant was developing an outreach plan that tailored to the individual needs of the programs. Each program serves a different geographical area and has its own unique outreach goals. In addition, the first year of the grant was primarily focused on developing data reporting processes and evaluation tools. The development of these tools and processes was not finalized until 9 months into year one of the grant. This caused us to miss out on collecting pre-program data to assist in program evaluation. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Year one of the project provided training opportunities for 21 veterans. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?FVC is working with a third-party evaluator to create an evaluation report that will be distributed to the 4 agricultural partners that FVC is currently working with. This report will be utilized to inform the project team on recommendations for program improvement. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Year two of the grant will be focused on refining outreach strategies, providing more detailed case management, and bringing our agricultural training partners together to discuss lessons learned during year one.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1: Increase veterans' awareness of career opportunities in agriculture. Objective: Employ a minimum of five diverse community outreach and marketing strategies to increase veterans' awareness of FVC's AgVets programs and partnered apprenticeship opportunities. During year one of the grant, FVC reached over 30,000 veterans through a combination of e-newsletters, direct veteran referrals, and speaking engagements. Examples of these speaking engagements include, though are not limited to, the following: February 10th, 2022. FVC was invited to provide a seminar at the World Ag Expo in Tulare, California, The seminar is titled "Veterans Rising: Providing Agricultural Pathways to Military Veterans, and the description is as follows: "Veterans possess the unique skills and character needed to strengthen rural communities and create sustainable food systems. Learn how one non-profit organization is helping cultivate a new generation of farmers and food leaders and developing employment and meaningful careers through the collaboration of the farming and military communities." Farm Demonstration Event March 24th, 2022 Farm Demonstration event April 14th, 2022 April 26, 2022. FVC was invited to speak at the "Veteran Grown: How to Grow New Farmers" event hosted by the Small Business Administration. This event showcased a panel of experts providing resources for farmer veterans. 8/17/2022 AgrilLeadher conference. Goal 2: Increase the number of successful veteran applications to partnered agricultural apprenticeship programs. Objective: Provide support and guidance for a minimum of 150 veterans each year that express interest in one or more apprenticeship programs, from initial inquiry through the application stage. Year one of the grant was primarily used for developing outreach plans for each of the 4 training program partners and strengthening FVC's ability to provide quality case management to farmer veterans in these programs. In addition, with FVC's assistance, our agricultural training partners trained 21 veterans on topics including: Introduction to Agribusiness Professional Agriselling Fundamentals of Value-Added Agriculture Soil health Vegetable production Goal 3: Increase the number of veterans that utilize FVC's supporting resources for improving success in their apprenticeships and post-apprenticeship careers. Objective: Provide customized case management / supportive services for a minimum of 46 veterans each year throughout their apprenticeship program, helping them after completion with the job search and placement process, and through to employment. During year one of the grant, FVC established a robust referral system utilizing our long-standing membership database, Salesforce. FVC staff focused primarily on adding relevant resources to this database to create a mechanism for referring veterans to agricultural training programs, USDA programs, mentors, and other local and national resources to assist as they embark on careers in agriculture. Year two of the grant will be focused utilizing this referral system and tracking the resource referrals provided to the veterans participating in each of the 4 training programs.
Publications
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