It’s fitting that Veterans Day and Thanksgiving fall within the same month, because if there’s one thing we all can be thankful for, it’s the service of our military veterans. In the 247 years since our nation was founded, our veterans have made the greatest sacrifice to protect our safety and our liberties.
Every man and woman who enrolls in the military makes a life-changing decision. They elect to step away from their daily lives, take themselves off the job market and leave their homes, families and routines to expose themselves to great risk. And when, after 3 to 30 years in the military, veterans leave the service, it can be difficult for them and their families to pick up the threads of civilian life. A 2019 Pew Research study found that nearly half of post-911 veterans have difficulty readjusting to civilian life.
UF/IFAS Extension works to provide opportunities and solutions for the lives of all Floridians, including the 1.4 million who have served in the military. At county Extension offices and UF/IFAS Research and Education Centers throughout the state, we offer programs that give veterans the knowledge and experience to pickup their post-service lives and embark on new enterprises and careers.
Veterans Florida is a non-profit organization that helps veterans and active servicemembers successfully transition to civilian life. Opportunities are currently offered through Veterans Florida’s DOD SkillBridge program for servicemembers who are about to retire or separate from the military. Since 2016, the organization has been partnering with UF/IFAS to provide veterans with training and hands-on experience in agriculture. Each research and education center brings on veterans to join field research and introduces them to agricultural production methods such as site preparation, data collection, harvesting and cropping activities. They also gain knowledge and contacts that allow them to gain employment in the ag industry. Over 110 veterans have graduated from the program and the rate of placement in agriculture has been more than 80%, according to Amy Entress Dudley, veterans employment and training services (VETS) program manager for Veterans Florida.
“We connect veterans with employers who are eager to hire them because they are reliable and dependable, and because of the skills they acquired in the military,” says Dudley.
For many veterans, it’s an opportunity to start a new life and a new career.
“Some [veterans] come from a background in agriculture, and farming is something familiar to return to,” says Gary Vallad, a professor of Plant Pathology at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) in Wimauma, FL. “For others who are new to farming and don’t know how to get into the industry, it can be intimidating. The Veterans Florida Agriculture program gives them familiarity with the agriculture industry.”
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Since starting the program in 2016, Vallad has watched it expand to UF/IFAS research and education centers throughout the state. In 2023, Veterans Florida Agriculture received a USDA-NIFA Partnership Award for integrating the land-grant missions of research, education and Extension.
The UF/IFAS Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory offers training to give veterans the opportunity to embark on careers in Florida’s fast-growing beekeeping industry. Amy Vu, the State Specialized Extension Agent in Apiculture, works with the Department of Defense’s SkillBridge program to recruit veterans interested in becoming beekeepers. Through online, classroom and hands-on training, participants learn the science of apiary management and honey and collection. On-site internships at research and commercial apiaries give veterans experience in managing their own colonies and developing business plans for honey bee products.
For veterans who dream of owning their own business, UF/IFAS Extension can provide education and resources that remove the barriers to making the first steps to success. A fully equipped kitchen incubator in the UF/IFAS Extension Pasco County office has been the launching pad for hundreds of residents who’ve enrolled in the county’s SMARTstart program. Mary Katherine Mason-Alston is a combat-injured veteran of the Marine Corps who turned her civilian hobby of baking shortbread into a thriving business in downtown Dade City.
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We are extremely fortunate here in the U.S. that the lives of relatively few citizens have been lost to warfare. We are more than fortunate, we are privileged with that security, thanks to the service of our veterans and servicemembers. For that, we can be eternally grateful.
If you are an active service member looking for a new career in civilian life, whether it be agriculture or entrepreneurship, consider contacting your local UF/IFAS Extension office and looking into the Veterans Florida DOD Skillbridge program: https://www.veteransflorida.org/agriculture/
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