Farmers across the country engage with our electronic materials on-line. For regional and local training, we offer a suite of opportunities to meet diverse needs. Hands-on training can bridge theory and practice. Our training becomes progressively more intensive and customized as farmers engage. Our signature training is a week-long, intensive “boot camp” and is like “learning from a fire hose” in the words of one veteran. It takes place during the summer on the App State campus. Veterans are housed in a dormitory and eat at the campus cafeteria. The training includes morning classroom time, afternoon farm tours, and team projects. We also offer an alumni training the last part of the week. Alumni from previous trainings return to share progress with other farmers, participate in additional training, and network with new participants. Peer-to-peer training is effective among farmers, and relationship-based training can be strong, especially among veterans. Throughout the year, we also help support local farm workshops for special topics and skill development. We also offer customizable internships (as funding allows) that meet participants where they are. These internships are designed to fit individual schedules, immerse learners in day-to day operations, show firsthand the business aspects of operating a farm, and allow learning in a relationship or community setting. Many farmer veterans open their farms to other veterans and learners. Sustainable agriculture conferences are a unique opportunity to learn and network. Many have farmer veteran meet-ups. We offered scholarships to conferences from 2020-2025 and plan to again in the future as funding allows.
Trainings
Read about our 2025 Frontline to Farm Beginning Farmer Veteran Training here. Check our Events page for upcoming.
Network with other farmers and veterans
Workshops and Demos
- Visit App State Farm in Fleetwood, NC or Sustainable Development community garden on campus in Boone, NC
- Join farm workshops with Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture's CRAFT workshops
Scholarship Opportunities
Veteran Scholarships for Agricultural Conference Attendance: Frontline to Farm and the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) partner to offer veteran scholarships (as funding allows). NCAT awards scholarships of up to $250 for military veterans who want to learn about sustainable agriculture and farm business at a conference.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. View application online
Education modules
- Access online educational modules on ecological agriculture, regenerative livestock production, agroforestry, and farm business
Farmer veteran internships
Contact Frontline to Farm veterans directly to inquire about customized internships at their farms.
- Cory Bryk (newlifefarm.nc@gmail.com) a Sergeant with the Marine Corps, farms in Lenoir, NC with enterprises ranging from pastured poultry, woodlot swine, and specialty vegetables and herbs in hoophouses.
- Amy Fiedler (springhousefarmnc@gmail.com) operates Springhouse Farm in Vilas, NC. She works with many interns each year and teaches prospective farmers how to raise vegetables and cut flowers. She has operated CSAs and conducts agritourism with farm dinners and events.
- COL Ryan Pace (Ret.) (rtpace45@yahoo.com) served in the Army and Army National Guard for almost 29 years and retired in January 2020. His final commanding position was as the 77th Combat Aviation Brigade Commander serving in Iraq, Syria, and throughout the Middle East. In his civilian job, he serves farmers with Greenway Equipment (a John Deere Company), as a Regional VP in the Central Arkansas area. He also has a grass-fed beef operation, Wholly Cow Farms, in Searcy AR.