Tag Archive for: Armed to Urban Farm

Application Period Open for Armed to Urban Farm in New Orleans

NCAT and the United States Botanic Garden (USBG) are offering their popular veterans’ urban agriculture training in New Orleans in October 2024.

Armed to Urban Farm gives military veterans an opportunity to see sustainable, profitable small-scale farming enterprises and learn about urban farming as a career. Armed to Urban Farm will include a week of engaging classroom sessions, farm tours, and hands-on activities in New Orleans.

Armed to Urban Farm participants will learn about whole-farm planning, farm financial planning, urban crop production, urban soils, marketing, and more. Participants will gain a strong foundation in the basic principles of operating a sustainable urban farming enterprise. In addition, attendees will join a nationwide network of supportive farmer-veterans and agricultural advisors.

Instructors will include NCAT sustainable agriculture specialists and U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies. Attendees will also learn from producers experienced in an urban setting.

Veterans can complete the online application HERE. The deadline to apply is August 30.

The program is available to military veterans who are interested in starting an urban farm or who are beginning urban farmers (less than 10 years). All veterans are welcome to apply, but those from the Southeast region will receive priority. Spouses and adult farming partners are welcome as well but must submit separate applications. Selected participants will be notified by September 6.

Dates, Location, and Cost

The training will take place October 7 -11, 2024, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The event is free for those accepted to attend. Lodging, transportation to local urban farms, and most meals will be provided. Participants must pay their own travel costs to and from the event, but travel scholarships are available through a partnership with Ranchin’ Vets. Information on travel scholarships will be provided upon acceptance to the training.

Hosts

NCAT and the USBG, partners in this program, will organize and host the Armed to Urban Farm event in New Orleans.

Questions?

Please contact Andy Pressman, andyp@ncat.org or (479) 587-3475.

‘Modern Farmer’ Features Armed to Urban Farm Alum

Armed to Urban Farm alum De’Keither Stamps is featured in the latest “Meet the Modern Farmer” section of the online magazine Modern Farmer. A veteran of both the Marine Corps and Army, De’Keither returned to his native Mississippi after 12 years of military service.

“In 2010, Stamps returned to his family farm in the small town called Learned, where he had helped raise cows and grow vegetables while growing up. He tended to his old duties there, although he wanted to expand and find a way to help the community in nearby Jackson, where large swaths of the city’s residents live in food deserts without access to fresh produce.” – Modern Farmer

Armed to Urban Farm began in 2018 when the United States Botanic Garden approached NCAT about forming a partnership to present an urban-farming focused training based on Armed to Farm, NCAT’s sustainable agriculture training program for military veterans. The first Armed to Urban Farm took place in Washington, D.C., and De’Keither traveled there from Mississippi to attend.

“For both active duty military members and veterans, the Armed to Urban Farm conference offers an opportunity to build a new career in agriculture while still being able to serve the community. The program undoubtedly helped Stamps realize his goals. “I grew up a traditional farmer with cows, big open land, tractors and equipment everywhere. And now I’ve got an urban farm, too,” he says. At his urban farm in Jackson, he now grows squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, kale, Swiss chard and other vegetables year-round using hoop houses (also called high tunnels), which he learned about during the Washington D.C. conference he attended.” – Modern Farmer

Armed to Urban Farm participants learn about whole-farm planning, farm financial planning, urban crop production, urban soils, marketing, and more. The program is available to military veterans who are interested in starting an urban farm or who are beginning urban farmers (less than 10 years).

NCAT and the USBG hosted a second Armed to Urban Farm in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2019. This year’s training will be a hybrid event that includes virtual classroom sessions via Zoom and in-person urban farm tours in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. The application period for the Baltimore training closes on August 13. Click here for more information and to apply.

Military Veterans: Applications Now Open for Urban Farm Training in Baltimore

Applications are now open for Armed to Urban Farm, an intensive training program for military veterans interested in sustainable urban farming. Developed by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) in collaboration with the U.S. Botanic Garden, Armed to Urban Farm allows attendees to get an in-depth look at sustainable, profitable, small-scale urban farming enterprises and to learn about urban farming as a career.

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