May 2, 2011—Davis, CA—The Farmer-Veteran Coalition (www.farmvetco.org) is now accepting applications from veterans who seek a career in farming and want to attend “Armed to Farm,” a two and a half day sustainable livestock retreat in Fayetteville, Arkansas from May 20-May 22, 2011. This educational retreat includes farm tours and hands-on learning opportunities at sustainable livestock operations, as well as presentations on soil, pastures, livestock production, farm planning, and marketing

Sponsored by the Farmer Veteran Coalition of Davis, CA—a non-profit organization that assists veterans with employment, training, and placement on America’s farms—and the Risk Management Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, “Armed to Farm” is free for both veterans and active-duty military personnel. Due to limited spacing, preference will be given to veterans who have demonstrated a serious interest in pursuing food and farming careers, and to post-9/11 veterans who are near the beginning of their careers.

“We are looking forward to having something practical to offer veterans, that will also work towards building a community amongst farming veterans,” says Michael Porter, director of the FVC career development. “This one of the greatest agriculture regions of the country, and the FVC is thrilled to work in strengthening the farming-veteran network there”

More than 40 percent of America’s men and women in uniform are from rural communities. When veterans receive training and secure agricultural employment in those communities, rural America is rejuvenated.

The National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) in Fayetteville is coordinating the farm tours, logistics, and presentations for the “Armed to Farm” retreat and has created a hands-on learning experience.  NCAT’s sustainable poultry specialist, Terrell Spence, himself a two-tour Iraq war veteran, says participants will learn to milk goats, do a health inspection of sheep and build a chicken coop.  Meals will feature local produce,meat and eggs from the farms that are visited.

Interested Veterans can apply by contacting Michael Porter, at the Farmer Veteran Coalition at (530) 756-1395 or by email at info@farmvetco.org.

FVC’s Veterans Organic Farming Educational Retreat  took place Memorial Day weekend. Sixteen aspiring farmers with military service backgrounds attended and all day Saturday and Sunday they were informed by experts in organic farming, training and certification. FVC provided accommodations, food and transportation to the venues, all around Santa Cruz, CA. Here are most of the attendees and FVC staff, posing amidst the organic berry bushes of Swanton Berry Farm. Jim Cochran, the founder, is in the center rear:

Photo by Susanna Frohman.

Contact our office for more information.

1 (530) 756-1395

All,

Here are a few pictures of today’s amazing event in Inglewood, California. I and three young vets helped put in a school garden in a poor part of Los Angeles as the first of 1000 schools that Kelly Meyer, wife of Universal Studios President, Ron Meyer, is spearheading. Yesterday my son, Greg, my daughter-in-law Rachael, my grand-kids and two other vets spent a long day filling the beds with soil. One of the vets, John McLaughilin, 27 year-old Army Vet and Purple Heart grew up on a 1200 acre farm outside of Merced. Jose Soto went to Iraq at the age of 17, saw some of the worst battles and lost a lot of friends.

Today we planted the gardens with 700 kids. In the afternoon there was a star-studded assembly.

The first picture is Jose, me and Tobey Maguire, who talked about being a vegan.

The second picture is Kelly introducing me to speak.

The third is John, Gabby Reece (beach volley ball star), me, Derek Fisher from the LA Lakers, Peggy from Growing Great (a project that supports school gardens) and Tobey.

The last one is my son planting with a group of kids.

It was a great day, to put it mildly.

The school is 60% Hispanic, 38% African American and 2% other. I asked the kids how many had family or friends that went to Iraq or Afghanistan and somewhere between one third and one half raised their hands.

After the assembly one teacher brought up an eight year old Hispanic boy that was fighting back his tears. She said he was sad because his Dad was getting sent to Iraq. She asked him if he wanted to meet any of the celebrities. He said no, he wanted to meet my son. Greg knelt down in front of him and held his hands. “Your Dad will have lots of friends that will look after him for you”, he said. “Make sure you write him and send him lots of pictures.” An emotional scene for me at the end of a long two days.

(Click image to enlarge)

Addenda:

Access Hollywood covered the event (because there were celebrities involved, obviously) but gave it good publicity. And participant Gabby Reece described the event in her blog.

It was a lively event where many good connections were made – between veterans and employers, veterans and agriculture advocates, FVC and farming veterans. The portraits show only a part of the 140+ veterans who attended.

Settle in, click the PLAY arrow and enjoy. Music by Tony Dee

FOOD & FARMING

VETERANS CAREER FAIR

March 5, 2010 * 9 AM – 4 PM

Veterans Memorial Building

1351 Maple Avenue, Santa Rosa

Event Coordinator: Linda Speel  -   linda (at) farmvetco.org

FOR DETAILS, CLICK HERE

]]> http://www.farmvetco.org/2010/02/food-and-farming-veteran-career-fair-2/feed/ 0 http://www.farmvetco.org/2009/11/farmers-and-veterans-meet-in-a-barn/ http://www.farmvetco.org/2009/11/farmers-and-veterans-meet-in-a-barn/#comments Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:17:11 +0000 cliff http://www.farmvetco.org/?p=603 [...]]]> “Tanks to Tractors” at Toby’s Feed Barn in Pt. Reyes Station gave locals and others (including a reporter from L.A. and a sociologist from France) an opportunity to meet some of the young men and women who have returned home to pursue work on America’s farms.

The event was open for free admission, with good food and drink to enjoy while the speakers spoke and during the social times before and after. Here are some photos from the event:

A down-home venue in a beautiful location, Pt. Reyes Station.

Helge Hellburg, of the main sponsor Marin Organic, welcomes the audience.

Michael O'Gorman, Project Director of FVC, tells its history.

Wendy Johnson, Master Gardener of the Green Gulch Zen Center, prepares to pass around the bell to honor all veterans.

Amy Fairweather, Director of Swords to Plowshares and the Iraq Veteran Project expresses her appreciation of FVC's mission..

Mary Tillman, Gold Star Mother and author speaks in support of FVC.

Veteran and small scale vegetable farmer Matt McCue describes the unforgiving discipline of growing winter squash.

Jeremy Lopez expresses his gratitude to his vineyard mentor Joe Judge.

Wendy Johnson closes the meeting with a story about a pomegranate and its inspirational meaning to a soldier in combat.

Photo courtesy of Coalition for Iraq + Afghanistan Veterans

The Coming Home Project, based in San Francisco, California, is holding a retreat for OIF & OEF family members with deployed loved ones to gather, relax and restore July 25-28, 2009. The retreat will be held at the Angela Center in Santa Rosa, California.

The challenges family members face during their loved one’s deployment are unique and acute: managing separation, communication, parenting, employment, marital concerns, and financial issues are just some of the challenges. Children and teenagers also can find this period extremely stressful.

• Renew mind, body, spirit, and relationships in a beautiful, tranquil setting in Santa Rosa, California.
• Learn relaxation, breathing, movement and other techniques for managing strong feelings, reducing stress and enhancing well-being.
• Improve communication and relationships. Enjoy tennis, volleyball, basketball, swimming, leisurely walks and delicious food.
• Find comfort and strength, safety and trust in the presence of others who know the impacts of serving.
• Share stories and experiences, use writing and drawing to express what is sometimes hard to say, and support and learn from one another. Everything is confidential.