Farm Ops

Project Lead: Nina Saeli

VeteranSilo 2hsjwpkThere 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.

 

Join the NYS Farmer Veteran Email List

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  

  1. Choose the email address with which you want to subscribe to the list.
  2. Send a message to NYVETSAG-L-request@cornell.edu from the email address you’d like to use for your list subscription.
  3. Do not put anything in the subject line.
  4. Type the word “join” (without quotations) in the body of the message.
  5. Hit send.

Farm Ops News and Updates

Veteran Virtual Seminar: Aromatherapy for Emotional Health

By Nina Saeli | February 23, 2023

Aromatherapy, also known as essential oil therapy, is defined as a holistic healing treatment that uses essential oils to improve the health of the body, mind and spirit. Essential oils…

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Farm Ops Scholarship: Mushroom Farming 101

By Bailey Colvin | February 23, 2023

This scholarship is to join farmer veteran, David DeLaMater and his wife Mary at Dough Haven Farm on either  April 21 or April 22, 2023. David and Mary will share…

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Farm Ops Offering Veteran Scholarships to the Forage and Pasture Management Workshop

By Nina Saeli | February 7, 2023

Do you want to get the most out of your pastures and hayfield?  Farm Ops offers support to veterans interested in attending the 2023 Forage and Pasture Management Workshop through…

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About Nina Saeli

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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 Rich Mattingly

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Rich joined the Small Farms Program in 2024 as a veterans project associate with Farm Ops. He served as a combat correspondent for five years in the United States Marine Corps, participating in operations in various locations around the world. In his role with Farm Ops, he works to tell the stories of veterans in agriculture, supporting the project’s mission of helping veterans achieve their farming dreams and goals while deepening their connection with their communities.