At Ease Orchard is trying a new way to help veterans and military-connected farmers find good information, useful opportunities, and people who understand agriculture.

The VetFarm Network is an At Ease Orchard program for veterans, currently serving military members, military spouses, and the people and organizations that serve the military and veteran community through agriculture.

As part of that work, At Ease Orchard has built a new web app that works right in your browser, so there is nothing to download.

And it is still very much a work in progress.

The goal is to create another place where the military and veteran farming community can ask questions, find resources, learn about opportunities, and connect with people who may be able to help.

Start with a farm question

Farm questions have a way of becoming urgent.

Maybe cold weather is coming and you suddenly need to know the best way to get a chicken coop ready for winter. Maybe you are trying to understand a fencing problem, looking for financing, or figuring out which USDA program might apply to your farm.

Sometimes you do not need an entire course.

You need a useful answer now.

The VetFarm Network gives participants a place to ask those questions and get a quick response or be pointed toward a resource that may help.

It also gives experienced veteran farmers another way to contribute.

Running a farm is demanding. Not everyone has time to host a formal mentorship, travel to a conference, or take on another major commitment. But someone may have five minutes to answer a question about poultry housing, grazing, equipment, markets, or another subject they know well.

That kind of exchange can be valuable.

More than 200 resources in the Field Guide

One of the biggest pieces already inside the VetFarm Network is the Field Guide.

It includes more than 200 agricultural resources from Extension, universities, USDA programs, nonprofits, and agricultural organizations.

The idea grew in part from At Ease Orchard’s free one-on-one farm support.

A farmer might ask one question, and the follow-up could include an Extension publication, a USDA program, a business planning tool, and the contact information for another organization.

All of those resources might be useful, but they can also become a lot of links to keep track of.

The Field Guide gives those resources a place to live so farmers can come back and find them again.

Topics include farm business planning, financing, livestock, crops, marketing, land access, production, and more.

Another place to connect

Facebook and other social platforms are still useful places for farmers to connect and share information.

But feeds move quickly. A good resource shared today may be difficult to find later, and a useful conversation can easily get buried.

The VetFarm Network is an experiment in creating another kind of space.

It has some of the feel of a group workspace like Slack, where people can ask questions and share information, while also incorporating features that will feel familiar to people who use online groups.

It is not meant to replace social media.

It is simply another place for the military and veteran farming community to connect.

Putting useful farm items back to work

The web app also includes an Exchange.

Farmers are good at reusing things, and farms have a way of accumulating equipment, materials, shelters, tools, and supplies that may still have plenty of life left in them.

Maybe you have something another farmer could use.

Maybe someone else has exactly the thing you have been trying to find.

The Exchange gives members another place to make those connections and keep useful farm items in use.

A place for partner organizations, too

The VetFarm Network is also intended for the many people and organizations serving veterans through agriculture.

Extension professionals, universities, veteran farm incubators, nonprofits, government agencies, agricultural organizations, and other cooperators can share events, educational programs, resources, and opportunities through the network.

There is already a tremendous amount of good work happening around the country.

Often the challenge is simply helping the right veteran hear about the right opportunity at the right time.

Creating another way to make those connections is an important part of what At Ease Orchard hopes the VetFarm Network can become.

Help shape what comes next

The VetFarm Network is still growing.

At Ease Orchard is testing it, learning from how people use it, and figuring out which parts are most helpful.

Veterans, currently serving military members, military spouses, and the people and organizations that serve this community through agriculture are invited to explore the app, ask questions, use the Field Guide, share events, and offer feedback.

Explore the VetFarm Network:
https://www.ateaseorchard.org/VetFarm-Network