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 […]

  • 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 […]

Farm Ops News and Updates

  • Empty Pockets Ranch LLC – A Veteran Owned Family Farm

    by

    Nina Saeli

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    After 10 years in the Army, three tours in Iraq, and the responsibility of leading Soldiers, veteran Josh David, realized an office job was not for him, and through his wife, Lori, he found his path into agriculture.  Laying down the leadership mantle is never easy, but what can be even harder is allowing your…

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  • Farmer Veterans: Starting at Square One

    by

    Nina Saeli

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    Military service generates multiple transitions points for veterans, and these experiences can support a veteran’s transition into agriculture.   The life transition into the military begins the day individuals raise their right hand. On that day, a person becomes one of a small percentage of Americans, who enter military service. Not to sound dramatic but just…

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  • Farm Ops Scholarship: Learning About Livestock Guardian Dogs

    by

    Rich Mattingly

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    Two farmer veterans recently attended a hands-on workshop at Empty Pockets Ranch to explore the benefits and challenges of using livestock guardian dogs (LGD) on their farms. Led by veteran spouse Lori Davis, the session provided an in-depth look at whether an LGD is the right choice for protecting livestock, covering topics such as breed…

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  • Farmer Veteran Allison Lavine’s Pathway to Farming

    by

    Bailey Colvin

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    Farmer veteran, Allison Lavine, recounts the path that led her from civilian life, to the military, to her current career as a farmer at ZiegenVine Homestead. Since 2014, Allison Lavine and her husband have owned and operated ZiegenVine Homestead in Savona, NY. The name ‘ZiegenVine’ is derived from their last names. ‘Ziegen’ means goat in…

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  • Farm Ops’ Cohort Learning Sessions Bring Veterans Together to Talk Ag

    by

    Nina Saeli

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    During the Small Farm Program’s online course season, Farm Ops, our military veteran project, provided veterans with free enrollment into select on-line courses and conducted veteran learning cohort sessions to supplement the course material. It is commonly known that military veterans are drawn towards opportunities to learn and train together, but in early 2020 when…

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See the full archive from Farm Ops

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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.

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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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