The American Farm Bureau Federation realizes the struggle veterans can have when returning to civilian life and that’s why they created the Patriot Project. The project basically is a mentorship program that matches veterans up with farmers to learn how to be successful in the ag industry. One of those veterans is Damon Helton who’s also a Farm Bureau member. He explained how he was teamed up with a farmer who was also a very good business man. “It’s an opportunity to take young entrepreneur veterans that are business minded, trying to build something, and gives them a mentor with someone who’s been successful,” Helton said.
Helton mentioned that the program shows veterans how to run their farm like a business. He said that he wanted to help feel his community and grow his farm, but in order to do that he had to learn to have a business model. “You have to understand what your input costs are, and you have to understand your margins,” Helton went on to say, “You grow and you’re going to need more employees. And so, I really learned how to run my farm like a true business.” His story goes to show that agriculture’s a great fit for veterans that are looking for something to get in to. Helton said it best, “We’re predisposed coming out of the military for all the things that being a farmer requires, long hours, early mornings, very strenuous dirty work. We’re searching for service that we’ve lost when we get out, so agriculture is just an amazing fit for that because that’s truly what it is, it’s service to our nation.”
Thank you to all of our veterans. We appreciate you.
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