America Needs 1-M New Farmers. Veterans Want The Job!
Our warriors are coming home from battle. Military veterans are some of America’s most capable young men and women and they yearn for a new mission, a peaceful way to serve. Thousands of returning veterans are being called to the land.
Individually and in groups, they are transitioning from the military into new careers in organic farming, grass-fed livestock, hydroponics, permaculture, beekeeping and producing artisan foods from killer salsa to honey wine. As they heal themselves from war, they are restoring our soils, boosting local economies and revitalizing the health of their communities.
Inspired by the mission of the Farmer Veteran Coalition, Ground Operations: Battlefields to Farmfields is an award-winning documentary film and social action campaign that champions combat veterans who are rebuilding their lives as organic farmers, regenerative ranchers and artisan food producers.
Lucky for us, because “there are twice as many farmers over the age of 65 as under the age of 35, reports Michael O’Gorman of the Farmer Veteran Coalition. “Our loss of farmers, we see it as a national security issue.” With half of American farmers at retirement age, the USDA is calling for a million new farmers in the next ten years, to fill the coming gap.
Fortunately, the Cavalry coming over the hill is just that … it’s the Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force and National Guard. Central Casting couldn’t have done a better job. The vets in Ground Operations are compelling, funny, handsome, entrepreneurial and engaging, and you’ll be rooting for them all the way to your local farmers market.
Veteran-operated training farms are springing up across the country, offering both job training and peer support.
Veterans and their caregivers are training one another in regenerative agriculture, a method of food production that replenishes soils and watersheds.
Damaging chemical exposure and losing buddies in the war for oil has motivated these veterans to farm in a sustainable, Organic, toxic-free manner.
Ground Operations has just completed a 2-year national tour of festivals, conferences and community events featuring Organic food, the film screening and farmer/veteran speakers, engaging audiences in community conversations about the role that veterans can play in strengthening America’s food security, one farm at a time.
The Q&A sessions after the film are strikingly similar. “Where do they find farmland? How can they pay for it? Is there training available? Does the government help? These audience discussions prompted The Ground Operations Field Manual, a brand new 12-page resource guide for beginning farmer-veterans that fits inside the DVD package, as a launch pad to answer those questions.
Ground Ops is currently developing sponsorships and collaborations to distribute the film and field manual to colleges, universities and veteran service organizations to inspire and encourage veterans to “mobilize to feed America.”
In a world full of problems, Ground Operations is a campaign about solutions.
Dulanie Ellis, Producer
See the Movie: http://www.groundoperations.net
Paul Ebeling, Editor
HeffX-LTN
The post America Needs 1-M New Farmers. Veterans Want The Job! appeared first on Live Trading News.