A virtual conference for veterans in agriculture will be conducted in the summer by the University’s Breaking New Ground Resource Center.
Each Tuesday commencing July 27 will bring together five consecutive discussions from 1-2:30 p.m ET.
Cindy Chastain, National AgrAbility’s veteran outreach coordinator, says agriculture is a source of employment and healing for many veterans. Although not all veterans grew up on farms, a large percentage come from rural areas. In agriculture, they find that they are fulfilled differently than in other fields of employment.”
This year’s conference agenda will include:
- July 27: “Introduction by Cindy Chastain, National AgrAbility Project, and Jeanette Lombardo, Farmer Veteran Coalition, plus “One Veteran’s Journey from PTSD to Farmer” by Sarah Creech, Blue Yonder Organic Farm and Indiana Farmer Veteran Coalition”.
- Aug. 3: “Celebrating Veteran Total Farmer Health” by Linda Emanuel and Shay Foulk, AgriSafe Network”.
- Aug. 10: “Programming for Veterans in Agriculture: How Maine Does It” by Anne Devin, Maine AgrAbility”.
- Aug. 17: “Update on USDA’s support for Veterans” by Bill Ashton, USDA Military Veterans Agricultural Liaison”.
- Aug. 24: “Panel Presentation on State/Regional Programs for Farmer Veterans” moderated by Cindy Chastain, National AgrAbility Project”.
In addition to Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) and Indiana AgVets, several organizations are involved in this conference. FVC connects veterans with viable employment and meaningful careers by bringing together the farming and military communities. The organization has chapters in Indiana and 23 other states.
Hoosier Uplands Economic Development Corporation leads Indiana AgVets, a USDA-sponsored program that offers internships and other support to U.S. military veterans in Indiana and the surrounding states.
Registration information and free sessions can be found at www.agrability.org/resources/veterans.
The veterans’ conference is automatically offered to those registered for the 2021 AgrAbility National Training Workshop Virtual sessions.
To learn more, please contact Paul Jones, project manager, at [email protected] or 800-825-4264.
Source: Farmers Advance
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