Wednesday, February 15, 2012

A pilot program is getting under way to help returning veterans go into farming while also revitalizing rural communities.

The Veteran Farmers Project is kicking off in Kansas and Nebraska with a series of workshops in March. Farm tours planned for the summer are aimed at attracting veterans from Missouri and Colorado as well.

The project includes individual consultations, mentoring and help finding financing.

Special projects coordinator Nick Levendofsky of the Kansas Farmers Union says the project is funded by the Agriculture Department's Risk Management Agency and the Center for Rural Affairs in Nebraska.

He estimates that about 40 percent of the veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan would like to live in rural areas to raise their families.