By RACHEL LANE

D.C. Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Veterans interested in becoming farmers may be getting a boost thanks a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.

The Farmer Veteran Opportunity Act of 2018 (FVOA) would make all veterans interested agriculture eligible for support from the USDA. It would streamline ability requirements to allow all new veterans to benefit from support, make risk management tools more affordable and accessible to farmer-veterans, improve access to loans and land and prioritize training for veterans.

“Agriculture offers our veterans rewarding careers and the opportunity to continue serving our nation by feeding our families,” said Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), ranking member of the committee. “After putting their lives on the line, our veterans should be first in line for support that can help them find jobs in farming and grow their agricultural businesses.”

Farmer-veterans would benefit from the bill by having access to more affordable risk management tools like crop insurance, and eligibility for a down payment loan to purchase land and the opportunity for lower interest rates on loans to buy land or equipment.

“When our veterans retire from active service, whether here or abroad, they need certainty and opportunity,” said Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas), chair of the committee. “I’m proud to cosponsor a bill that allows men and women who have served our country to return to the farm.”

Craig Vaughn returned to his family farm in North Dakota about eight years ago, after finishing a bachelor’s degree and his enlistment period in the Marines. He and his brother have been taking over the day-to-day operations of a 1,600-acre row crop farm and 200 head of cattle.

Vaughn said he doesn’t get any special considerations for being a new farmer that his brother – not a veteran – is also eligible to receive. The bill would give him a slight benefit if he applied for loans independently from his brother. Since they operate the farm jointly, his brother will benefit from Vaughn’s time in the military if the bill is approved.

“I got out of the Marine Corps eight years ago and I was one of the few people coming back to the family farm … if you look at the farming population, the average farming age is pushing retirement,” Vaughn said. “Farmers hate to retire even when they’re eligible.”

Before he enlisted, and in the years since, nothing has changed to attract beginning farmers or veterans back to the farms were they grew up. He thinks the bill would be a step in the right direction for farmer-veterans, but more needs to be done.

“I could not imagine what it would be like for someone who’s a first-generation farmer, trying to start on their own,” Vaughn said. “I’m incredibly lucky to be able to do what I do for a living.”

Money to start up – get land and the equipment needed to farm it – is difficult for most beginning farmers. Vaughn suggested a program or database that might help connect people interested in entering farming with older farmers who don’t have anyone in the family interested in farming in the future.

It would give the older farmer some additional help on the farm, and a beginning farmer a chance to learn about the work and, possibly, access to land when the older farmer retires.

He said growing a farm is almost as difficult as starting a farm. The current beginner farmer programs typically have a time limit; when the limit is hit, the farmer is no longer a beginning farmer and doesn’t qualify, even if the farm hasn’t yet become self-sustaining.

Dale Moore, vice president of Public Affairs for the American Farm Bureau Federation, said the proposed act fits well with existing tools and resources. All beginning farmers have trouble starting out, but veterans may have special difficulty getting loans, he said.

A member of the military may not have a strong credit history inside the United States, which would make it harder to get a loan. If they’ve been serving their country, they may not have a business plan prepared until after they return to the
States.

There are programs that can assist all beginning farmers, but the act would provide a little extra assistance to veterans.

Some states have mentor programs in place to allow veterans to work on a farm and learn about managing one and the day-to-day operations. Moore said it gives the veteran a chance to decide if they like farming or if they want to be involved in management and want to own their own farm. He would like to see more programs like this in place.

“We feel we owe (veterans) to be as helpful as we can if they’re interested in getting involved in agriculture,” Moore said.

“A growing number of our returning servicemen and women are looking to farming as a way to support their families and continue serving their nation. Support for these men and women, as proposed by Senators Roberts and Stabenow, is vital to strengthening our veteran and rural communities,” said Michael O'Gorman, executive director, Farmer Veteran Coalition.

The Assist Socially Disadvantaged and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Act of 2018 was also introduced in the Senate Agriculture Committee this month. It would help farmers of color and veteran farmers have equal opportunities for access to USDA programs by reauthorizing mandatory funding for Section 2501, increasing transparency and requiring the USDA to provide an annual report on the race, gender, ethnicity and veteran status in all USDA programs serving farmers and ranchers.

According to USDA reports, military veterans and farmers of color have not participated in or benefited from USDA programs to the same extent as other farmers. In the past, the Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program, Section 2501, was the only USDA program specifically aimed at the qualified farmers.

“American agriculture is diversifying more each day, but military veterans and farmers of color continue to face unique hurdles in accessing key tools and resources,” said Juli Obudzinski, deputy policy director at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.