Veteran Resources

Table of Contents:

front of a Military Veterans/Agriculture rack card promoting the MaineGrowers program
Military Veteran/Agriculture-Specific Rack Card (PDF)

MaineGrown by Vets
Military Veterans: Agriculture Needs YOU!

Are you interested in owning, operating or working on a farm?

  • Find experts and peers for information on production, land access, business planning, marketing, and employment opportunities.
  • Learn about farming through practical training and skill-building opportunities statewide.
  • Connect to helpful resources to farm safely and successfully.
  • Navigate your next mission with Maine AgrAbility.

Maine AgrAbility’s Farmer Veteran Outreach Coordinator, Anne Devin (anne.devin@maine.edu) can assist you in your next mission in agriculture. We can help beginning farmers, share resources, and help you connect with other farmer veterans. Download the veteran-specific brochure Military Veteran/Agriculture-Specific Rack Card (PDF). We’ve also developed a page, Checklist for Veterans Who are Farming (or Who Want to Farm) – with accompanying downloadable PDF – to familiarize users with informational resources, agencies, and organizations in Maine.

Video: Farming with a Disability: Holly (YouTube)

Boots-2-Bushels 2022
Boot Camp for Market Gardeners and Farmers

Learn how to go from seed to salary with this course for beginning farmers, with an emphasis on military veterans and their family members interested in growing and selling their own farm produce. All classes are taught by UMaine Extension, MOFGA, and local farmer subject matter experts.

Using the “5 F’s” of Farming Risk: Farming, Family, Finances, Fitness, Future, as a guide, participants will acquire the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully grow to produce for small-scale private or commercial fruit and vegetable production.

FMI: Visit the Boots-2-Bushels: Boot Camp for Market Gardeners and Farmers page

Additional Resources

  • USDA Veterans in Agriculture: Thinking about farming as a post-service career? There has never been a more important time to get involved in agriculture. The USDA is working to provide the solutions and partnerships to get you started in farming.
  • United Farmer Veterans of Maine is a veterans-based non-profit working for the betterment of ALL veterans in Maine. United Farmer Veterans of Maine exists to promote collaboration that advocates, supports, and mentors Maine’s military veteran farmers in order to facilitate success in sustainable and secure agriculture throughout our communities in Maine.
  • On a national level, the National Farmer Veteran Coalition is a resource whose mission is to mobilize veterans to feed America.
  • The Small Business Administration (SBA) connects to veteran farming resources. Boots to Business: From Service to Startup is an entrepreneurial education initiative as an elective track within the Department of Defense’s revised Training Assistance Program called Transition Goals, Plans, Success (Transition GPS). Veteran Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (VWISE) is an entrepreneurial training program for female veterans of all service eras and branches with a passion for and interest in either starting a new small business or growing an existing one.
  • Easterseals Maine offers military and Veterans systems of care with viable options to support and augment current reintegration efforts. Its mission is to provide critical and timely financial assistance when no other resource is available to veterans, service members, and their families, to ensure their dignity, health, and overall well-being.
  • Goodwill Industries of Northern New England has the Veteran Fund whose goal is to meet the immediate needs of veterans and their families, to fill the gap, connect, and move forward.
  • Guide to Veteran-to-Farmer Training Pilot Program Resources in Maine (#2432) — In 2013, the Maine State Legislature passed LD 409, a “Resolve to Establish a Veteran-to-Farmer Training Pilot Program,” the purpose of which was to capture the richness of opportunities in Maine for veterans to receive comprehensive training and education on careers in the agriculture. This fact sheet will serve as a guide to training and education resources to pursue careers in agriculture.

These links are provided purely for educational purposes. No responsibility is assumed for any content on the linked site.