Project Leads: Nina Saeli, Bailey Colvin
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: To support military service members and veterans who desire to explore and/or pursue agricultural vocations.
Vision:
- 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.
Sign up for the NYS Veterans in Agriculture Listserv
Would you like to receive periodic email about events and opportunities for veterans in agriculture? Farm Ops and our partners will be using this forum to publicize events, resources, and opportunities related to veterans interested in farming in NYS.
To SUBSCRIBE
- Choose the email address with which you want to subscribe to the list.
- Send a message to NYVETSAG-L-request@cornell.edu from the email address you’d like to use for your list subscription.
- Do not put anything in the subject line.
- Type the word “join” (without quotations) in the body of the message.
- Hit send.
Farm Ops News and Updates
Attendees toured Cross Island Farms to gain inspiration from a diverse farm operation. Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County recently hosted its second farm tour for veterans, active duty military…
Read MoreJohn Lamondes purposely chose to venture into farming after retiring from 27 years of service in the United States Military. Farming became a life-long goal of his after working on…
Read MoreCenturion Farm is owned and operated by Nina and Jeffrey Saeli, veterans of the United States Military. After retiring from many years of service, they moved to New York and…
Read More
Sign up for the Cornell Small Farms Program E-Newsletter and check "Farm Ops" when you're signing up. You'll be sure to get updates and event announcements.
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.
About Bailey Colvin
Bailey joined the Small Farms Program in 2022. Being a military wife, she has a fond appreciation for the sacrifices that our veterans, active-duty military members, and families make for our country. Her primary goal is to get to know our veterans, their backgrounds, and what transferable skills they carry from their military careers. She works to effectively support the lifestyle change they are seeking. The education, training, and resources provided afford our veterans many opportunities to explore their interests with purposeful connections to their communities through agriculture and farming.
