Five of our Fellowship Fund Grantees and their partners enjoyed great outdoor activities that gave them the opportunity to unwind and get to know other farmer veterans. Participants soaked in the beauty of the Kentucky landscape while enjoying horse races, touring a horse therapy facility, visiting historic sites like President Lincoln’s birthplace, fishing, canoeing, skeet shooting, and eating local Kentucky barbeque.

For many of these veterans and their spouses, this retreat gave them their first vacation in years—and the opportunity to meet and get inspired by their fellow farmer veterans. A tour of Marksbury Farm, a local chicken and meat processing facility, sparked new ideas for how our farmers could achieve similar results in incorporating processing equipment or in selling at a similar scale, at a local level.

Participants also got valuable information about a key issue that many in the agricultural community face: how to finance your farm. Enrique Perez, from our partner ShadeFund, held two informal focus groups to discuss funding challenges and solutions. These discussions helped our farmer veterans learn more about the farm financing process and the resources available to them.

All in all, these retreats provided an opportunity to recharge, get technical training in key areas, and foster a strong sense of camaraderie, particularly amongst fellow Wounded Warriors. We are grateful to our partners, and in particular to the Bob Woodruff Foundation, for making it possible for us to bring together the Farmer Veterans that we work with for a rejuvenating and inspiring retreat. We couldn’t think of a better place to have it than in Kentucky where local agriculture and veteran-grown products are so strongly supported!

If you’d like to join or learn more about our upcoming retreats and events, feel free to contact us.

Personally, my loved one and his twin served in the military to protect our freedom after 9/11. Thankfully my wounded soldier is now home and has found a job that he enjoys. Unfortunately our country has a lot of soldiers coming home with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (also known as P.T.S.D.) along with having a difficult time figuring out what to do next with their future.

At the GI Film Festival, an interesting solution came to light. Not only did the solution help our veterans deal with their experiences but also gave them a positive purpose within our society and a way to make our communities stronger. Farmer Veterans Coalition and Archi’s Acres’s Veterans Sustainable Agriculture Training are helping Veterans to become happier individuals with a meaningful purpose. Take a look at this inspirational documentary from Ground Operations.

This solutions aids America to support ourselves, our economy, our veterans, and our future. If you want to join in supporting these programs, please click on these links to their website to donate.

Donate: Farmer Veterans Coalition

Donate : Archi’s Acres’s Veterans SAT

To view the original post, visit: http://dreamingoflaceandpearls.wordpress.com/support-our-troops/

During Garret’s first year, he experienced some bumps in the road and had to sell off some of his herd. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because it forced him to start smaller and slowly increase the size of his herd. Currently, Garrett runs 130-140 head of cattle (Hereford Heifers), which he breeds with Angus bulls. Garrett raises the calves and then sells them on the cattle market. During the grazing season (May-October), the heifers and calves graze in the fenced pasture. During the winter, Garrett feeds his cattle hay, which he cuts from a 700 acre parcel of irrigated pasture.

As a Bob Woodruff Farming Fellow through the Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund, Garret used his grant to purchase a truck load of alfalfa.  Garrett is on his way to becoming a successful Farmer Veteran and hopes that once alfalfa price fall again he can work towards buying parcels from his father to preserve the his ranch.

Sharp Meadows, located in West Virginia, consists of five acres.  Philip, who is still in the early phases of his farm business, plans to raise 50 laying hens, half an acre of produce, and honey bees.  He plans to lease more acreage and raise more and different kinds of livestock, such as goats, beef cattle, and sheep.  Up until now, Philip has paid for everything from his own personal funds, taking what he needs from his military pension.  He wants the farm to be able to sustain itself financially in the near future.

Philip was awarded with a Bob Woodruff Farming Fellowship through the Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund.   He is going to use this money to purchase electric fencing and trees for his orchard.  Next year, he wants to start a CSA and build a farm stand.  Philip has sustained both visible and invisible wounds from his service in the military, and this deviation from the culture of destruction and move towards a nurturing environment that promotes growth has helped him heal and transition into a career he has been a part of since he was young.