An aging american farm population, the need to successfully transition land ownership from senior farmers to new industry entrants, and providing support and training for these beginning farmers,…

This $737,491 project grant from the Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program will provide training and support services to increase the number of veterans and civilians entering careers in farming. Awarded to the Rodale Institute on September 1, 2021, the project connects Rodale's existing veteran farmer training program with its full-season Farmer Training program and enhanced curriculum offered through Rodale Institute Farmer Training's virtual campus. This will directly assist dozens of veterans and civilians on-site in Kutztown, Pennsylvania and allow additional veterans to participate remotely via the virtual campus's online regenerative organic farming courses. The project aims to address concerns around the aging of American farmers and transitioning farmland ownership, while also increasing employment opportunities for veterans residing in rural communities.

An aging american farm population, the need to successfully transition land ownership from senior farmers to new industry entrants, and providing support and training for these beginning farmers, are top concerns for the future of the american farming industry. According to the 2017 agriculture census, the average age of farmers is 57.5 years old. To address these critical issues, this project connects existing rodale institute's veteran farmer training program with full-season farmer training opportunities and enhanced curriculum offered through the rodale institute farmer training (RIFT) program and its virtual campus, a newly launched educational platform for farmers containing online courses focused on regenerative organic topics. This project is equipped to directly assist dozens of veterans and civilans on-site and also allow opportunity for additional veterans to participate remotely via our virtual campus. Further, data from the veterans affairs office estimates that "almost a quarter of all veterans in the united states, 4.7 million, return from active military careers to reside in rural communities." this proposal aims to increase the number of veterans choosing follow-on careers as farmers, and thereby address some of the employment challenges of living in rural america.