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: 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.
Events
Events
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Taking a Deeper Dive into Nutritious Diets for Pigs
Virtual EventWhen it comes to a healthy diet, the stereotype that pigs only eat slop or scraps could not be more wrong. A pig’s diet will influence its meat’s flavor. Overweight…
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Recognizing Signs and Identifying Illness or Injury in Pigs
Virtual EventLivestock specialist Ashley McFarland and swine producer Adam McFarland- Top Notch Livestock & Meats will teach swine farmers how to recognize early signs of illness or injury in pigs. Participants…
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Inspecting and Pricing a Pig for Purchase
Virtual EventLivestock specialist Ashley McFarland and swine producer Adam McFarland- Top Notch Livestock & Meats will guide beginning swine farmers through the essential steps of inspecting and pricing a pig for…
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Injury Prevention and Pain Relief for Farmers
Clear Path for Veterans 1223 Salt Springs Road, Chittenango, NY, United StatesFarm Ops is excited to host Physical Therapist Brian Westlake, DPT, Cert. MDT at the Clear Path for Veterans venue on Saturday, March 28, 2026 to discuss and demonstrate how…
Farm Ops News and Updates
After serving 27 years in the United States Military, John Lamondes made a deliberate choice to pursue farming, a lifelong dream sparked by his childhood experiences working on a farm.…
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Farmer veterans from across New York gathered in Syracuse on Nov. 29 for the 2017 New York State Veterans in Agriculture Conference, an event focused on networking,…
Walking into classroom 167 at SUNY Adirondack on July 31, 2017, it would not have been immediately apparent that two unifying features connected the individuals gathered there. Twenty-five veterans from…
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.
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 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.
