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

Farm Ops Supports Veteran Attendance to High Tunnels, No-till, and Organic Fruit Production at West Haven Farm (A Bilingual Event)

By Bailey Colvin | July 22, 2024

Come to West Haven Farm, a 10+ acre fruit and vegetable farm run by Carlos Aguilera and Lorena Mendoza on Sunday, July 28 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. This…

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Farm Ops Supports Veteran Attendance to the 2024 Christmas Tree IPM Field Day

By Bailey Colvin | July 19, 2024

New York State Integrated Pest Management and Cornell AgriTech are sponsoring the 2024 Christmas Tree field day on Thursday, August 15 from 4:30-7:30pm. Come learn from Timothy Waller from Rutgers…

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Farm Ops Offers Agricultural Marketing Veteran Cohort

By Nina Saeli | July 10, 2024

Marketing for a farm involves promoting and selling agricultural products by understanding consumer needs, creating a unique brand, setting competitive prices, and using various channels to reach customers. With successful…

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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.