STATUS:  Open year-round / Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund is awarded in the Spring of each year.

CLIENTS SERVED:  Military members that are currently serving or have an Honorable Discharge from any branch of the U.S. Military and are beginning their career in farming or ranching.

DESCRIPTION:  The mission of the Farmer Veteran Coalition is to serve, empower, and connect military veterans and active-duty service members with the resources, education, training, and partnerships necessary to cultivate successful careers in agriculture.

SERVICES / PROGRAMS:   WE GUIDE the passion of our veterans so that they may earn for themselves a meaningful, financially sustainable place in the agricultural community. This could entail full-time or part-time employment, or a critical supplement to disability-related income.

• Get HBH-Certified:  Founded by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture in January 2013, the Homegrown By Heroes label has been administered nationally by Farmer Veteran Coalition since Veterans Day of that same year. Since then, the program has expanded to include more than 1,800 members in all 50 states plus Puerto Rico. Homegrown By Heroes is supported by several national agriculture and food safety leaders such as the United States Department of Agriculture, Farm Credit and the American Farm Bureau.
• Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund:  The Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund is a small grant program that provides direct assistance to veterans who are in their beginning years of farming or ranching. The Fellowship Fund does not give money directly to the veteran, but rather to third-party vendors for items the veteran has identified will make a crucial difference in the launch of their farm business. Awards range from $1,000 to $5,000, and nearly $4 million has been awarded to more than 930 veterans since 2011.  Once the application period ends, an advisory panel of agricultural industry professionals convenes to review submissions. The application review process can take up to two months with awardees usually being notified in the Spring.

HOW TO APPLY:  Find your State Chapter here:  https://farmvetco.org/state-chapters 

Chapters bridge the gap between a nationally-driven movement of farmer veterans and the state and county-level resources that will help them achieve success in agriculture.