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Your donations help Veterans to explore and transition into careers in farming, to reconnect with the land and community, and to stay connected with each other while providing the nation with farmer veterans whose knowledge, skills and sustainable practices are at the heart of food security and equity. Your money will support a variety of training, mentoring and internship programs, as well as local farms and gardens.
News
App State’s College of Fine and Applied Arts completed another successful year of its Frontline to Farm program to support veterans who are transitioning to farming as a livelihood. Programming this year included classroom sessions at App State and farm tours around the High Country. Participants worked with national and regional experts in topics including agricultural law, strategic communication and marketing, farm business and planning, sustainable agriculture and more. Frontline to Farm co-director Anne Fanatico, a professor in App State’s Department of Sustainable Development, said training like this is critical to local sustainability.
Frontline to Farm, a program of Appalachian State’s College of Fine and Applied Arts, is planning its 2024 farmer veteran and beginning farmer training to be held June 24-28, for new trainees and June 27-28 for training alums. The training focuses on sustainable farming in the region and is intended to support veterans transitioning into farming as a livelihood and is supported by a USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development program grant.
Dr. Anne Fanatico and Dr. Lynn Gibbard visit the “Farm Answers” podcast and share their Frontline to Farm program and how it is helping beginning farmers and military Veterans.
Appalachian State University’s Frontline to Farm program saw a successful week of training in late July with veterans touring local farms to learn the ins and outs of farming. Participants in the weeklong training visited various farms including Patterson Incubator Farm, Springhouse Farm and Shipley Farms. The training was provided to farmer veterans for free.
More than 30 veterans will attend hands-on training through Appalachian State University’s Frontline to Farm program. The National Center for Appropriate Technology is partnering with the Frontline to Farm program to bring its Armed to Farm training to North Carolina for the first time from July 25 to July 29, 2022. Armed to Farm participants will learn about business planning, budgeting, recordkeeping, marketing, USDA programs, livestock production, fruit and vegetable production and more.
Earlier this fall, Appalachian State University’s Department of Sustainable Development received a three-year, United States Department of Agriculture grant that will benefit veterans looking to become farmers. The grant, which is worth $599,684, is intended to help veterans from all walks of life transition into the civilian world through sustainable agriculture. The program will utilize a combination of web-based training modules, hands-on in the field workshops as well as mentoring programs that connect participants with farmers already using sustainable practices.