Veterans in agriculture takes place at Farm Bureau annual meeting
GREENE – Given agriculture's prominence in Chenango County industry, it's only suitable that an organization developed to serve and strengthen agriculture discuss the current issues facing the farming community across that region and nationwide.
That was the takeaway at the 59th annual meeting of the Chenango County Farm Bureau (CCFB) held Tuesday at the Silo Restaurant in Greene, where members convened to update CCFB policies as well as address the modern-day concerns of agriculture, from issues in state and federal legislation to farmers helping farmers.
The organization strives to be the voice between agriculturalists and legislators in Albany and Washington.
“Policy development starts at the grassroots level by those that participate,” said CCFB President Bradd Vickers. “You, the members, will determine the path of the Farm Bureau. Your ideas can make a difference.”
The CCFB had plenty to tout this year, including receipt of all seven Silver Keys (awarded for addressing criteria in certain ag related programs), in addition to being awarded its 14th National American Farm Bureau County Activities of Excellence Award during the New York State Farm Bureau annual meeting in Albany.
The CCFB Board applauded its corporate supporters and gave recognition to its deserving members during the event. This year's CCFB Advocated of Agriculture Award was issued to Betty Ann Robinson, a longtime CCFB member, agriculture education teacher, and leader of the Otselic Valley Central School chapter of the FFA.
CCFB also extolled late board member Marge Secrest who passed away earlier this year. Known for her stringency in writing CCFB documents – as well as her baking – Secrest was an irreplaceable asset to the Farm Bureau, Vickers said. He added, “Her attendance at (CCFB), NYFB, and AFBF functions will be greatly missed and she will hold a place in our hearts forever.”
While a brunt of Tuesday's gala centered heavily on legislative issues (including the federal Clean Water Act which farmers say would place restrictions on even the smallest mud puddles), the organization this year also focused on a topic that’s too often overlooked: veterans and farming.
Keynote speaker Jamie Critelli, a former Army Reserve captain and owner of the wholesale greenhouse company Floral Beauty Greenhouses in New York, cited concerns of a dwindling number of farmers in the country and explained how an increasing number of veterans looking for jobs can help fill the void.
Critelli, a 1998 Cornell graduate on an Army scholarship, used his service in the Army Reserve to describe how agriculture practices, such as land use or family-run operations in other parts of the world, stack up to those in the U.S. Moreover, he addressed the challenges that face new farmers here at home.
“There's certainly a lot of veterans and when they come back to the U.S., they're often missing that sense of a mission – that unity of command, that purpose of contributing to a higher good. They're missing all of that,” Critelli said. “And I can think of really no better place to incorporate these folks than in agriculture. Over 50 percent come from rural backgrounds.”
According to Critelli, one of the greatest obstacles facing veterans entering farming is start-up costs. Veterans often struggle to find avenues of funding to begin their operation, leaving them helpless without taking a hit to their personal credit, he said. Yet there's few federally designated programs that offer any relief.
“For anyone getting into farming, it's not for the fain of heart,” he said. “To start a greenhouse operation is a half a million dollar venture. And you better have it because if you go to a bank asking for it with relatively no experience, it doesn't really matter.”
Critelli said while there were some programs available to help him plant his feet in the workforce, nothing was available to get him into agriculture.
“I was absolutely blown away that there wasn't a program like the GI Bill to get veterans into agriculture,” he said. “If we know there's such a huge impasse with farming in the next few years and we know there's an issue of soldiers coming home and not having a purpose, why would it not make sense to try to pair the two?”
He added, “Farming does have some problems. We need some help for the future; but I feel there are some ways to help us get back on track if we start including the veteran populations.”
The Chenango County Farm Bureau is partnered with the Farmer Veteran Coalition of New York, whose mission is to provide and connect veterans with the means to become farmers and expand the abilities of existing military veteran farmers, offering assistance for internships, training, placements, and other opportunities that will help veterans feed Americans and heal themselves.
The CCFB will also be represented at the annual meeting of the New York Farm Bureau set to be held Nov. 9-11 in Albany.
That was the takeaway at the 59th annual meeting of the Chenango County Farm Bureau (CCFB) held Tuesday at the Silo Restaurant in Greene, where members convened to update CCFB policies as well as address the modern-day concerns of agriculture, from issues in state and federal legislation to farmers helping farmers.
The organization strives to be the voice between agriculturalists and legislators in Albany and Washington.
“Policy development starts at the grassroots level by those that participate,” said CCFB President Bradd Vickers. “You, the members, will determine the path of the Farm Bureau. Your ideas can make a difference.”
The CCFB had plenty to tout this year, including receipt of all seven Silver Keys (awarded for addressing criteria in certain ag related programs), in addition to being awarded its 14th National American Farm Bureau County Activities of Excellence Award during the New York State Farm Bureau annual meeting in Albany.
The CCFB Board applauded its corporate supporters and gave recognition to its deserving members during the event. This year's CCFB Advocated of Agriculture Award was issued to Betty Ann Robinson, a longtime CCFB member, agriculture education teacher, and leader of the Otselic Valley Central School chapter of the FFA.
CCFB also extolled late board member Marge Secrest who passed away earlier this year. Known for her stringency in writing CCFB documents – as well as her baking – Secrest was an irreplaceable asset to the Farm Bureau, Vickers said. He added, “Her attendance at (CCFB), NYFB, and AFBF functions will be greatly missed and she will hold a place in our hearts forever.”
While a brunt of Tuesday's gala centered heavily on legislative issues (including the federal Clean Water Act which farmers say would place restrictions on even the smallest mud puddles), the organization this year also focused on a topic that’s too often overlooked: veterans and farming.
Keynote speaker Jamie Critelli, a former Army Reserve captain and owner of the wholesale greenhouse company Floral Beauty Greenhouses in New York, cited concerns of a dwindling number of farmers in the country and explained how an increasing number of veterans looking for jobs can help fill the void.
Critelli, a 1998 Cornell graduate on an Army scholarship, used his service in the Army Reserve to describe how agriculture practices, such as land use or family-run operations in other parts of the world, stack up to those in the U.S. Moreover, he addressed the challenges that face new farmers here at home.
“There's certainly a lot of veterans and when they come back to the U.S., they're often missing that sense of a mission – that unity of command, that purpose of contributing to a higher good. They're missing all of that,” Critelli said. “And I can think of really no better place to incorporate these folks than in agriculture. Over 50 percent come from rural backgrounds.”
According to Critelli, one of the greatest obstacles facing veterans entering farming is start-up costs. Veterans often struggle to find avenues of funding to begin their operation, leaving them helpless without taking a hit to their personal credit, he said. Yet there's few federally designated programs that offer any relief.
“For anyone getting into farming, it's not for the fain of heart,” he said. “To start a greenhouse operation is a half a million dollar venture. And you better have it because if you go to a bank asking for it with relatively no experience, it doesn't really matter.”
Critelli said while there were some programs available to help him plant his feet in the workforce, nothing was available to get him into agriculture.
“I was absolutely blown away that there wasn't a program like the GI Bill to get veterans into agriculture,” he said. “If we know there's such a huge impasse with farming in the next few years and we know there's an issue of soldiers coming home and not having a purpose, why would it not make sense to try to pair the two?”
He added, “Farming does have some problems. We need some help for the future; but I feel there are some ways to help us get back on track if we start including the veteran populations.”
The Chenango County Farm Bureau is partnered with the Farmer Veteran Coalition of New York, whose mission is to provide and connect veterans with the means to become farmers and expand the abilities of existing military veteran farmers, offering assistance for internships, training, placements, and other opportunities that will help veterans feed Americans and heal themselves.
The CCFB will also be represented at the annual meeting of the New York Farm Bureau set to be held Nov. 9-11 in Albany.
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