Item No. 1 of 1

INVESTIGATOR: Burke, A.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
Veterans Farm, LLC
1919 blanding Blvd
Jacksonville, FLORIDA 32210

ENHANCING VETERANS FARM FELLOWS PROGRAM

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Veterans Farm was established in 2010 as a handicap accessible farm for disabled combat veterans. The farm was founded by Adam Burke, a Purple Heart veteran, after he returned home from his deployments with multiple wounds of war. Through farming and returning to his roots, Adam was able to overcome his injuries and at that point decided to give back to fellow disabled veterans by establishing a horticulture therapy program on his farm. Starting with just 2.8 acres of land the farm has grown to over 19 acres. Through the Enhancing Veterans Farm Fellowship Program, our aim is threefold torecruit and provide training toveterans for a sustainable economic career in farming, to offer veterans a strong support mentoring system and provide the resources they will need to start their agriculture ventures. Veterans Farm, seeks a Beginning Farmers and Rancher Development Program grant to help returning combat war veterans develop the fundamentals of private farm related businesses that will be sustainable over the long term. The grant will hasten the Veterans Farm progress toward a comprehensive farm based training program that will focus on the needs of those post war veterans who suffer from traumatic brain injury, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and other combat related injuries. In addition, the program will focus on junior military personnel who have not had the opportunity to gain extensive technical skills or training. Studies have shown that this is the group of veterans most at high risk for long term unemployment. While Veterans Farm has had significant success to date, the reach to our target population has been with few exceptions, limited to the immediate geographical area. This grant would enable Veterans Farm to expand its geographic outreach by leveraging its ability to offer a range of instructional tools and resources. This will include two recruitment and informational outreach workshops, an innovative mentoring model which includes one mentoring training workshop and, four farm trainingworkshopswhich address a unique tenure model to connect beginning farmers to lease and land purchase opportunities. The project will build upon past successes and work with multiple project collaborators to maximize the learning opportunities for combat war veterans as they make a successful transition to that of a beginning farmer.The need for this project is great as it is estimated that in the next five years, one million veterans are expected to leave military service. (Government Accountability Office) Transition to civilian life is difficult for many of these veterans. These men and women who return home, with or without injuries, must transition from the structure, violence, and intense stress of military combat to the civilian world. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, throughout 2012 veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan had an unemployment rate of 9.9 percent--compared to about 7.9 percent for the general U.S. population. Particularly hard hit are female post-9/11 veterans with an unemployment rate of 12.5 percent. 1 The demographic characteristics of post-9/11 veterans differ from those of veterans who served in earlier conflicts. While men still account for the vast majority of recent veterans (83%), the share of women among post-9/11 veterans (17%) is nearly twice the share of women in the veteran population overall (9%). Recent veterans are younger: nearly 60% of post-9/11 veterans are under 35.2 . A larger share of post-9/11 veterans are African American. All in all, there are more than 200,000 unemployed Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in this country. In addition, transition challenges are compounded for veterans with disabilities. In a recent survey of veterans by the Pew Research Center (Morin, 2011), of the 1,853 surveyed, 27 percent reported the transition back to civilian life was difficult. In that same survey, of veterans who had served during the 10 years since the September 11, 2001 attacks, 44 percent found transitioning difficult. This survey also found the elements that contributed most to difficult transitioning were serious injuries or exposure to emotional trauma. The model which was used in this Pew survey, further forecasts that men and women who served in post-9/11 combat are 15 percentage points less likely than veterans from other wars to experience an easy transition to civilian life after their military service. (Morin, 2011) Taking these factors into consideration, coupled with the fact that 45 percent of military veterans come from a rural background, agricultural based training has been identified as a good fit for this population. This training affords these veterans the opportunity to heal as they transition from military service to that of a new farmer. These new farmers will help bridge the widening gap between retiring famers and the lack of younger farmers taking over the family farms. America's farmers, the farms they manage and the foods they produce are at a crossroads. For the past century, the total number of American farmers has steadily declined--from over six million farmers in 1910 to just over two million farmers in 2007.3 For each farmer under 35 there are 6 over 65 and the average age of farmers is 57.3.4 It is estimated that between now and the year 2030, half a million (one-quarter) of American farmers will retire.5 When our nation loses family farms, we all suffer economic, environmental and social harm. In agricultural areas, fewer farmers may mean a further consolidation of farmland, the decline of communities and their economies. In suburban areas and the rural areas just beyond, this trend may contributeto the transition away from working farms into estates or residential developments. Fewer regional farms may diminish access to fresh, locally grown food in our cities. Protecting the nation's farms and farmland is an issue of national consequence. The success of beginning farmers today will determine the quality of food we eat, the future of our rural landscapes and the longevity of our farming traditions. Veterans Farm can help fill this gap as we willidentify, recruit, offer mentoring,information, training andassist in findinglandtoa new generation of veteran farmers. 1 Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey (CPS). Employment Situation of Veterans - 2012. http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/vet.pdf. 2 Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics (CES). 3 United States Department of Agriculture, Farm Numbers 4www.youngfarmers.org/reports/BuildingaFuture.pdf 5www.youngfarmers.org/reports/BuildingaFuture.pdf Project Narrative 3 Veterans Farm

OBJECTIVES: Long Term Goal: Veterans Farm hasthree objectiveswhich will lead to the fullfilment of theirreach their long term goal of preparing veterans to becom New Beginning Farmers.First,the program will implement a coordinated, stakeholder-driven approach to identifying and recruiting veterans as they separate from military service and transition to the civilian world. 1.) Increase the number of combat war veterans and served by the Enhancing Veterans Farm Fellowship Program.Second, is to expand upon the existing Veterans Farm innovative mentoring model.2.) Increase number of potential mentors entering the mentoring program through stake-holder recruitment.Third, objective is to ensure long-term success through continued support. The Veterans Farm Fellows Program will offer a unique tenure model to connect beginning farmers to lease and land purchase opportunities. Support will also be offered through workshops, direct consultation, planning tools and production information to support farmers as they become established.3.)Increase access to farmland among beginning farmers through leases and purchases.