IARN — An Iowa Farmers Union webinar on Thursday helped the public learn about the non-profit organization Veterans in Agriculture.
Veterans in Agriculture was founded nearly 10 years ago with the mission to empower veterans to thrive in Iowa agriculture. Executive Director Beth Grabau told IFU members that Veterans in Agriculture is comprised of members from around the state of Iowa who have an interest and a passion for agriculture and helping veterans transition into agricultural production and jobs.
“Forty-six percent of our military is actually from rural America,” said Grabau. “We have a vast knowledge of our veteran community and our active military that have farming knowledge. While about half are from the farm, 80% had other experience while they were in rural America in agriculture.”
Grabau says her organization is able to connect military veterans with resources and networks of information, programs, and organizations to help transition to agricultural careers. They also promote opportunities for all military veterans in all sectors of Iowa’s agricultural economy.
“Kind of our overall scope right now is we have 350 people on our newsletter,” said Grabau. “I work with between 80 and 100 different and new veterans or active military annually. They can be from all over the place – mainly from the Midwest – but all over the nation. Some even call me when they are still deployed. They get real laser focused when they know when their discharge date is, and they start making plans for their time after. They really find us through word of mouth and through Google searches.”
The Veterans in Agriculture office is located at 10861 Douglas Avenue in Urbandale, Iowa. Visit the organization’s website to learn more.
Story courtesy of the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network.
Photo by Veterans in Agriculture
