Farmer Veteran Coalition Stakeholders Conference: Full Schedule

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7:45am CDT

Breakfast

Monday October 28, 2024 7:45am - 8:45am CDT

Location: Shawnee

Monday October 28, 2024 7:45am - 8:45am CDT
Location: Shawnee

9:00am CDT

Opening Ceremony

Monday October 28, 2024 9:00am - 10:15am CDT

Location: Shawnee

Speakers

Jeanette Lombardo

CEO, Farmer Veteran Coalition

Jeanette Lombardo’s passion and life experiences have uniquely prepared her to lead Farmer Veteran Coalition. Born in Wiesbaden, Germany, while her father served in the U.S. Air Force, she was raised on her family’s multi-generational farm in Erie, Pennsylvania.Jeanette spent... Read More →

Lawrence Rhone

Program Manager, Farmer Veteran Coalition- National

Lawrence Rhone is a Fayetteville, North Carolina, native and Army veteran who served during both the Cold War and Gulf War eras in field artillery as a forward observer which included directing close air support. In addition to his time spent sending rounds down range, Lawrence also... Read More →

Ken DeVan

President, FVC Kansas Chapter

Mike Beam

Kansas Secretary of Agriculture, Kansas Department of Agriculture

Mike Beam was appointed secretary of the Kansas Department of Agriculture by Governor Laura Kelly in January 2019.Beam came to KDA following 38 years of experience in association management for the Kansas Livestock Association. He has served as the Executive Director of the Ranchland... Read More →

Chris Chinn

Missouri Director of Agriculture, Missouri Department of Agriculture

Chris Chinn, a fifth-generation Missouri farmer from Clarence, was named Director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture in January 2017. Director Chinn has held leadership positions in agriculture on the local, state and national level for more than 18 years, working to move the... Read More →

Bill Peterson

TOPSPORT SOLUTIONS, LLC, BLLT Technology, LLC

William H. Peterson, raised in western Pennsylvania, brings a unique blend of leadership experience and personal commitment to his role today with the Farmer Veteran Coalition. Coming from a family of Vietnam veterans, Peterson’s deep respect for service members and their contributions... Read More →

Monday October 28, 2024 9:00am - 10:15am CDT
Location: Shawnee

10:30am CDT

Successful Farming Panel

Monday October 28, 2024 10:30am - 12:00pm CDT

Location: Shawnee

How do you start your farming and ranching operations? Come learn from these Farmer Veteran Coalition Veteran members as they discuss the success and challenges they have faced as beginning farmers and ranchers and how FVC has been a part of their journey!

Moderator:
- Ken DeVan, FVC Kansas Chapter

Speakers

Ken DeVan

President, FVC Kansas Chapter

Bryan Zesiger

Owner/Vintner, Z&M Twisted Vines

Bryan Zesiger's life journey has taken him from the swimming pool to the skies and finally to the vineyards. As a recipient of a swimming scholarship, Bryan attended the University of New Mexico before joining the ROTC program. Following graduation in 1996, Bryan embarked on a remarkable... Read More →

Jim Hartman

Owner, Secret Garden Bees

Jim is the owner and founder of Secret Garden Bees, a family owned honey farm in Cumberland County NC that is distributed across 20 states and more than 120 stores. Jim served ten years in the Army as a paratrooper and in the Bomb Squad with two tours to Iraq. After leaving the Army... Read More →

Elizabeth Riffle

Owner, Riffle Farms - American Bison

Liz is an animal lover first and foremost, and an agent for the natural community. She grew up as an equestrian, took lessons and trained horses across the country while working as an active duty U.S. Navy Nurse Corps nurse. She is committed to honest meat and changing the current... Read More →

Monday October 28, 2024 10:30am - 12:00pm CDT
Location: Shawnee

12:00pm CDT

Lunch

Monday October 28, 2024 12:00pm - 1:00pm CDT

Location: Shawnee

Mike Reynolds is the founder and Chief Farming Officer of Hero Agriculture, a nonprofit that uses farming to help veterans find hope, heal, and build purposeful lives after military service.

A career paramedic, combat veteran, and retired Army Master Sergeant, Mike never planned to be a farmer. His experience of being injured on deployment, telling no one, almost losing everything, and fighting his way back to a purposeful existence led him to farming.

Mike joined the Army having dreamed of being a paramedic since age 4. His service as an Army Flight Medic spanned the globe, including four years as the flight medic for the 4th CST/WMD at Dobbins ARB in Atlanta. While deployed to Iraq in 2009, Mike sustained a traumatic brain injury during an ambush of his Humvee ambulance.

Mike’s recovery included a series of disappointments that led him to realize he would never be a medic again. At his very lowest, he volunteered at a farm just to keep himself busy. He was surprised to find comfort in the rhythms of farming, interaction with animals, and purposefulness of the work. It gave him hope and, eventually, a new purpose as a farmer. He founded Hero Agriculture in 2020 to help other veterans do the same.

Speakers

Mike Reynolds

Chief Farming Officer, Hero Agriculture

Mike Reynolds founded Hero Agriculture in early 2020, following a long recovery from a traumatic brain injury sustained while deployed to Iraq as an Army medic.Mike's recovery included a series of disappointments that led him to realize he could never be a medic again. At his very... Read More →

Gary Matteson

Farm Credit

Gary Matteson works for Farm Credit’s trade association in Washington, DC as Senior Vice President, Beginning Farmer Programs and Outreach. This includes policy work on local foods, sustainable agriculture, and direct-to-consumer agriculture.He is an advocate for young, beginning... Read More →

Monday October 28, 2024 12:00pm - 1:00pm CDT
Location: Shawnee

1:30pm CDT

Roundtable Activity

Monday October 28, 2024 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT

Location: Shawnee

The general purpose of a roundtable is to hold a close discussion and exploration of a specific topic. Stakeholders will be given the opportunity to visit 6 separate roundtables of their choosing and learn about a variety of different organizations and topics. Rotations occur every 10 minutes of this hour-long session that will showcase 15 tables to increase your knowledge and networks!

Table 1: Flower Hill Institution: In early 2022, the Biden Administration committed nearly $1 billion to creating a more resilient, diverse, and equitable meat and poultry processing system. As part of that commitment, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service recruited a network of organizations to provide no-cost technical assistance to processors and prospective processors.

Flower Hill is a native-owned, community-directed nonprofit that serves as the overall Technical Assistance Coordinator for the MPPTA Program. It works closely with AMS and the TA Providers to connect meat and poultry processors, USDA grant applicants, and grant-funded project managers to the resources and expertise best suited to support a project’s needs.

Table 2: Palmetto Veterans in Agribusiness: Through Project Victory Gardens, Matt and Kara designed the Palmetto Veterans in Agribusiness initiative, which provides cost-free entrepreneurial education opportunities for veterans considering a career in agriculture. This initiative offers Farmer Bootcamp training programs and a DoD SkillBridge agricultural internship program. Matt Rutter is the Executive Director of programming under Project Victory Gardens and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Policy at Clemson University focused on the intersection of agriculture and veteran policies.

Table 3: Farms of the Brave: Through Project Victory Gardens, Kara designed the Farms of the Brave, a marketing and branding certification program for veteran-led agritourism farms. Project Victory Gardens recently launched an Agritourism Incubator program for veteran-led farms in South Carolina. Kara Rutter is the President of Project Victory Gardens and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management at Clemson University focused on Agritourism.

Table 4: Veterans Employment Base Camp and Organic Garden: Veterans Employment Base Camp and Organic Garden, VEBCOG, has achieved the ability to increase educational and marketing opportunities for beginning farmers and ranchers by partnering with Farmer Veterans Coalition of North Carolina and collaborating with the University of Mount Olive in Mount Olive NC, in addition to requesting the services of NC Agritourism and NC Cooperative extension. VEBCOG has a primary mission to provide transitional employment and training for disabled and socially disadvantaged veterans using an urban farm but we have continued to evolve within our program services. In the past 8 years, we expanded to successfully develop a 3-point collaborative based agricultural education programming for active duty and military veterans who had farmed or ranched under 10 years using USDA AGVET funding and developed an onsite Youth Farmers Market training underserved youth ages 13-17.

Table 5: Frontline to Farm (F2F): is a program of Appalachian State University's College of Fine and Applied Arts. The program's primary mission is to assist military veterans transitioning to farming as a livelihood with a focus on sustainable practices that support long-term success. They offer online and in-person training and resources that focus on the practice and business of farming and on building community support. F2F leveraged its organizational network and social media during the pandemic to assist those impacted by Hurricane Helene, particularly veterans and farmers in the Western North Carolina region.

Table 6: Hero Agriculture:

Table 7: AgrAbility: The vision of AgrAbility is to enhance quality of life for farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural workers with disabilities, so that they, their families, and their communities continue to succeed in rural America. For this target audience, “success” may be defined by many parameters, including: gainful employment in production agriculture or a related occupation; access to appropriate assistive technology needed for work and daily living activities; evidence-based information related to the treatment and rehabilitation of disabling conditions; and targeted support for family caregivers of AgrAbility customers. AgrAbility addresses a wide variety of disabling conditions in agriculture, including, but not limited to: Arthritis, Spinal cord injuries/paralysis, Back impairments, Amputations, Brain injury, Visual impairments, Hearing impairments, Disabling diseases, Cerebral palsy, Respiratory impairments, Head injury

Table 8: USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA): Farming is inherently a risky business. The USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) provides crop insurance to American farmers and ranchers to help manage on-farm risks. Staff from RMA regional offices will be available to answer your questions about crop insurance. In particular, farmers new to crop insurance can learn about benefits for beginning farmers and veterans as well as how to get crop insurance.

Speakers

Dave Carter

Dave Carter serves as a Director of Regional Technical Assistance Coordination for the Flower Hill Institute, an indigenous-led nonprofit organization coordinating the technical assistance network USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service has established to support producers seeking... Read More →

Matt Rutter

Executive Director, Palmetto Veterans in Agribusiness

Through Project Victory Gardens, Matt and Kara designed the Palmetto Veterans in Agribusiness initiative, which provides cost-free entrepreneurial education opportunities for veterans considering a career in agriculture. This initiative offers Farmer Bootcamp training programs and... Read More →

Kara Rutter

President, Project Victory Gardens

Through Project Victory Gardens, Kara designed the Farms of the Brave, a marketing and branding certification program for veteran-led agritourism farms. Project Victory Gardens recently launched an Agritourism Incubator program for veteran-led farms in South Carolina. Kara Rutter... Read More →

Lovay Wallace-Singleton

Veterans Employment Base Camp and Organic garden

Veterans Employment Base Camp and Organic Garden, VEBCOG, has achieved the ability to increase educational and marketing opportunities for beginning farmers and ranchers by partnering with Farmer Veterans Coalition of North Carolina and collaborating with the University of Mount Olive... Read More →

Lynn Gibbard

Professor/Co-Director of Frontline to Farm, Appalachian State University

Dr. Lynn Gibbard, a US Army and Army Reserve Veteran, is faculty in the Department of Communication at Appalachian State University specializing in strategic and intercultural communication. She is the Co-Director of the University's Frontline to Farm program whose mission is to support... Read More →

Mike Reynolds

Chief Farming Officer, Hero Agriculture

Joe Ricker

Veteran Outreach Coordinator, AgrAbility

Responsibilities:The Veteran Outreach Coordinator (VOC) is responsible for networking with SRAPs and other relevant organizations to improve opportunities and outcomes for farmer veteran AgrAbility clients. The VOC represents AgrAbility at various veteran- and agriculture-related... Read More →

Bill Ferris

Risk Management Specialist and USDA BFR/VFR Champion, USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA)

Bill Ferris served in the United States Air Force (USAF) before attending college at Noth Dakota State University where he earned both his Bachelors and Masters degree in Agricultural Education. He has worked with the Federal Government for 20 years and is currently a Risk Management... Read More →

Monday October 28, 2024 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
Location: Shawnee

4:15pm CDT

Women of FVC

Monday October 28, 2024 4:15pm - 5:00pm CDT

Location: Shawnee

Welcome to our Women of FVC group kickoff!
Come learn about Wounded Warrior Project and the wonderful resources they have for women Veterans and caregivers!

Monday October 28, 2024 4:15pm - 5:00pm CDT
Location: Shawnee

Farmer Veteran Coalition Stakeholders Conference

From $57.03