BY AYANAVA MAJUMDAR, ACES
ALABAMA — Operation Grow, in partnership with the Alabama Department of AG and Industries, provides special emphasis on the training needs of military veterans interested in agriculture for health and employment benefits. Alabama Beginning Farmer is led by the Alabama Extension commercial horticulture team. Overall, Operation Grow supports grassroots educational and networking efforts that are inclusive of all veterans and their families with universal access to information and resources.
Major objectives for the organization are training, network and sustainable support. During training, they provide a three-step farm planning support system to military veterans interested in farming using hands-on, on-farm, and digital media-based training (integrate technical, experiential, and social learning for veteran-owned farms). Operation Grow offers a network with other veteran support agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for extending current knowledge base and assess future needs. They provide sustainable support for veteran farmers with localized multi-agency collaboration to increase farming success. Very soon, beginning veteran farmers may also loan farm equipment as part of the support services.
The Operation Grow Hardware and Equipment Loan Program (OG-HELP) provides farm equipment to designated Alabama counties to offset the upstart cost of agriculture. Equipment will be owned and maintained by the OG-HELP Implementation Team and housed at either a Research & Extension Center or a County Office. Beginning veteran farmers may schedule and return equipment upon agreement, allowing for a sharing/cost-cutting system.
If you are a military veteran and interested in establishing a training schedule in your county, contact a commercial horticulture regional Extension agent or county coordinator. Use the Farming Basics mobile app to locate your county-based contacts easily and to connect to a vast array of digital and social media resources such as the Farming Basics online course, a crop, insect, disease, and weed database, as well as social media tools.
For more information on the Alabama Beginning Farmer Program, visit www.AlabamaBeginningFarmer.com. Typically, several personnel from non-governmental organizations, state agencies like Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Farm Service Agency (FSA), and Extension educators form the local support network for new producers.
