Farmer Veteran Coalition Events for Beginning Farmers and More

Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) to Host National Conference for Women Veterans in Agriculture: Davis, CA April 2012—With the help of the USDA Risk Management Agency, Annie’s Project and Oxfam America, the Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) is excited to host the “Empowering Women Veterans:  Success in Agriculture Business and Well-Being” conference in Davis, Calif. on July 7-8, 2012. This conference will be the first of its kind, aiming to bring women veterans together in an environment specifically designed to address their unique experiences and needs in agriculture. Want to learn more about the Women's Conference? Read more "Farm Foundations" Workshops Help New and Beginning Livestock Farmers Plan for Success: The National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) is now accepting registration from new and beginning farmers who want to attend the two-day “Farm Foundations: Planning for Success” sustainable livestock workshop. The workshop will be held April 21-22, 2012 at Falling Sky Farm in Marshall, Arkansas. Sustainable Livestock and Specialty Crop Production - May 9-11, 2012 • Indianola, Mississippi: Join FVC for a unique three-day, two-track workshop focused on business planning, identifying markets, and online marketing. May 9-10: Crop production track; May 10-11: Livestock track. Participants may attend the two-day crop production track, the two-day livestock track, or both tracks for three days. Each track features hands-on activities, educational presentations and group discussions, and a tour of Beaverdam Farms. Theses educational workshops will teach farmers how to manage risk through business planning, recordkeeping and budgeting, and marketing strategies. The “Farm Foundations” sustainable livestock workshop is free and open to new and beginning farmers, particularly those in Arkansas and Mississippi. Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who are interested in farming are encouraged to attend. The two-day workshop will combine educational presentations with a tour of Falling Sky Farm and hands-on training on topics including pasture poultry, pastured pork, and grass-fed cattle. For more information or to register for the workshop, farmers should contact NCAT at (479) 442-9824 or email margoh@ncat.org. To learn about more FVC events click "read more". Learn more about FVC and other Farmer Veteran Training programs at https://www.beginningfarmers.org/beginning-farmer-training-programs/military-veteran-farmer-training/

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From Service to Stewardship: A Workshop for Veterans on Farming with Heritage Breeds of Livestock and Poultry – Join the Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) and the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC)  for a two-day intensive workshop that will help transform today’s veterans into tomorrow’s farmers. This first-of-its-kind workshop will educate and train America’s service men and women on the skills necessary to steward some of America’s most historic and endangered farm animals. The workshop will be held Friday, May 4th and Saturday, May 5th. The workshop will be located at Central Carolina Community College in Pittsboro, North Carolina. For more information: https://albc-usa.org/documents/veteransworkshop.pdf. Contact: Margo Hale; Phone: (479) 442-9824; E-mail: margoh@ncat.org.

FVC and Goodwill Industries Cohost Three-Day Workshop For Disabled Veterans & Agriculture Workers: Three national organizations are coming together to address the needs of a unique subset of veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan – those who want to start a new life as farmers and who are also overcoming injuries, both visible and invisible, sustained during deployment. Goodwill Industries International and the National AgrAbility Project are sponsoring “Creating Opportunities for Veterans and Other Agriculture Workers with Disabilities”, a three day conference in Rochester, New York May 15-17, 2012.  The Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) and Goodwill Industries of the Finger Lakes will be cohosting the event. Read more about the three-day workshop

FVC Fellowship Fund Continues to Spark Progress on Fellows’ Farms: In recent Fellowship Fund news, Bon Appetit Good Food Fellow Drew Woods recently received an incubator for his turkeys, purchased by FVC. As he was   scrambling before to keep up with the amount of eggs being produced, he now has the equipment to do so. On a related note, FVC purchased an egg washer for Bob Woodruff Farming Fellow Alex Sutton who operates Sutton Heritage Farm in North Carolina. Another Bob Woodruff Farming Fellow, James McCormick, received his new bamboo plants for Raising Cane, his bamboo farm in West Virginia. He planted them this last weekend, dedicating each plant to a fallen warrior, explaining that it was “a wonderful but sobering time for many as we [reflected] on those warriors and families.”