TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Creating opportunities for veterans in sustainable agriculture is the goal of the Arizona nonprofit, Land at Home Project.
Founded in 2021, the organization’s Co-founder and President, Barry Taylor, describes the organization as a promise.
“It’s an assurance to our veterans that as long as there is an agricultural community, as long as there is a land at home, that our veterans will always have a place to come back to here in the great state of Arizona,” Taylor explained.
After laying the groundwork for the organization over the last few years, the nonprofit recently welcomed its first cohort into its “Veterans in Agriculture” program.
This first cohort has four participants who are receiving 30 days of hands-on experience in agriculture in Southern Arizona. They are then spending the remainder of their time in the 12-week program completing virtual learning. They will earn a certificate from the University of Arizona after completing the program.
The four participants travelled from all over the country to take part in the program. Navy Veteran Janei Smiley is from Atlanta, Georgia. She served in the military from 2012 to 2016 and has a background in education.
“Being in the classroom setting or being behind a desk just really wasn’t cutting it, so when this opportunity came up, it was completely out of my comfort zone, completely something I’ve never tried before, but everything lined up timing-wise and opportunity-wise, so here we are,” she said.
Some come with a background in agriculture and can use the program to network and implement what they learn into their own farming. While others like Smiley are getting their first taste of the industry.
“Watching what’s going on with the world, the kind of fear-mongering around what’s in our food, where it’s coming from that definitely at least made me want to become more educated in this field and understand what opportunities there might be to be more efficient, to be more sustainable, to be better in what the production we see at super markets and on our tables,” Smiley said.
While learning about agriculture, they’re also building community.
“Without this program, we would’ve never met each other, we never would have had an opportunity to expand our networks with each other, and I just really think that, I say veterans get veterans – that community it stays with you, it sticks with you,” Smiley said.
The program is largely funded by the AgVets grantthrough the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but donations are accepted.
Veterans interested in the program can apply here.
