Farm Ops

Project Lead: Nina Saeli
Veterans Assistant: Tess Noble Strohm

There are approximately 19 million U.S military veterans, representing less than 10% of the total U.S. adult population. New York State is home to over 800,000 of that military veteran population. Not commonly known and understood, military service members have unique skill sets, which easily transfer to several agricultural or horticulture vocations.

Farm Ops provides the means for veterans, active duty service members, reservists, and members of the national guard to explore agricultural and horticulture avenues. These individuals may be seeking prospects to be their own boss, paths to connect with the soil or with nature, ventures to continue to serve the community in which they work and live, or just opportunities to connect with other veterans. Whatever their interests, Farm Ops aims to serve and support the men and women of NYS, who dedicated their lives in service and support of our nation.

Mission & Vision

To support military service members and veterans who desire to explore and/or pursue agricultural vocations.

  • Provide a framework within which veterans can connect with their community, other military veterans involved in agriculture, and resources including targeted programs, information networks, and organizations oriented towards helping veterans transition to agricultural vocations.
  • Grow the relationships between Farm Ops and the NYS military/veteran communities.
  • Assist in synchronizing the efforts of veteran service/support organizations and farmer-oriented service organizations to gain efficiencies and better align services to farmer veteran needs.

Farm Ops Resources

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Events

Events

Today

  • Farm Tour: Small Scale Farrow to Finish

    299 Yule Corners Rd, Jordanville, NY 13361 299 Yule Corners Road, Jordanville, New York

    Top Notch Livestock & Meats houses boars, barrows, guilts, and sows to support their farrowing to finish swine operation.  This farm tour will focus on the permanent infrastructure and equipment needs for separating various pig operations to facilitate biosecurity, disease control, and production efficiency. Approaches, such as separating pigs by age, production stage, and health […]

  • So You Think You Want to be a Market Gardener

    Centurion Farm, LLC 287 Creek Road, Locke, NY

    The Cornell Small Farms Program is pleased to offer an in-person workshop exploring the ins and outs of market gardening. This event is perfect for aspiring and beginning farmers who want to grow and sell vegetables produced intensively on small acreage.   Whether you are already growing vegetables for yourself and your family or planning for […]

Farm Ops News and Updates

  • Farm Ops: High Tunnel Construction Workshop for Veterans

    by

    Nina Saeli

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    Farmer veteran James Turrell hosted fellow veterans on his farm for a hands-on workshop on high tunnels, sponsored by Farm Ops, highlighting their use in season extension, crop protection, and pest management. Participants learned methods for covering high tunnels with plastic while learning about site selection considerations. After lunch, Turrell led discussions on end wall…

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  • Farm Ops: Building a Flower Farm Strategy Event for Veterans

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    Nina Saeli

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    Seven farmer veterans and their spouses gathered at Bristol Hills Lavender and Flower Farm for a workshop on balancing the demands of agriculture with personal well-being. Hosted by farmer Susan Orellana-Clark, the event focused on the challenges of managing multiple farm enterprises while maintaining a sustainable work-life balance. Orellana-Clark shared her personal journey of resilience…

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  • Agricultural Basic Training for Farmers

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    Nina Saeli

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    Armed to Farm returns to New York State to again assist veterans explore careers in agriculture. “I’m a veteran, and I want to be a farmer!” This statement comes in emails and voicemails to the Cornell Small Farms Program staff on a frequent basis. In different stages of transition out of military service, each veteran…

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  • Farm Ops Offers Scholarships for NYS Maple Producers Association events

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    Rich Mattingly

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    Farm Ops, the Cornell Small Farms Program’s veteran project, supported 5 scholarships for veterans to attend the Maple Classic Conference. Participants learned ways to optimize their current operations, understood the impacts of climate change on maple production, expanded their value-added offerings, viewed the latest and greatest technologies in the trade show, and much more. The…

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  • Farm Ops Offering NYS Veteran Cohort for Tree Fruit Production Online Course

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    Nina Saeli

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    Do you want to establish an orchard as part of your farm business? Or maybe you have an orchard that needs rehabilitation? Farm Ops, the Cornell Small Farms Program’s veteran project, assists veterans in building and sustaining their farm and agricultural businesses. Farm Ops is building the 2024 Tree Fruit Production Veteran Cohort. This cohort…

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See the full archive from Farm Ops

nina-saeli-sfp-staff-headshot

About Nina Saeli

Nina joined the Small Farms Program in 2020 after five years of collaboration with the program as a beginning farmer.  She works to support both current and future farmer-veteran programming efforts. Nina’s transitioning from almost 20 years of military service into the civilian community helps to inform the program on how of some of the physical, social, and psychological challenges veterans face. Nina’s work aims to help transitioning veterans find solace in aspect of agriculture that supports that veterans health, self sustainability, community inclusion or other life goals.

Tess-Noble-Strohm-sfp-headshot

About Tess Noble Strohm

Tess joined the Small Farms Program in 2025 as a veterans project assistant with Farm Ops. Her love of the outdoors began by hunting for insects in her Brooklyn backyard as a child. After studying environmental science at Bard College, she worked on a small farm in the Hudson Valley, and then went on to study soil science at Colorado State University. Tess moved to Ithaca, NY, to work as a Research Support Specialist at the Cornell Soil Health Lab before joining the Farm Ops team where she helps veterans thrive in agriculture and ensures they have the tools and resources they need to succeed.

Subscribe for Updates and Opportunities

The Farm Ops SITREP is a monthly email digest built for farmer veterans. Emails will share upcoming events and training/educational opportunities, external news, curated agricultural articles, stories about fellow farmer veterans across New York State, and more.

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