Learning opportunities for veterans interested in farming, ranching, homesteading, and agricultural business.
The Learning Network brings together in-person Summits, monthly virtual gatherings, recorded webinar curriculum, and podcast-style learning. It is designed to help veteran beginning farmers learn practical skills, ask better questions, connect with peers, and find useful agricultural resources.
The Learning Network supports veteran beginning farmers through agricultural education, peer connection, USDA resource navigation, and practical learning opportunities offered online and in person.
Some learning opportunities are open to anyone who registers, while participant-only materials require a short intake first.
Choose the learning format that fits where you are right now.
Regional learning events with agricultural educators, partners, service providers, and veteran farmers.
Monthly Zoom gatherings where participants can ask questions, hear from farmers, and learn with others.
Webinar curriculum, recorded conversations, and video resources that participants can revisit on their own schedule.
Summits are in-person learning and networking events built around practical agriculture topics, partner resources, and peer connection.
The first VetFarm Network Summit was held in Indianapolis in 2026, with more than 70 veterans participating and learning alongside agricultural educators, partners, and service providers.
The webinar series is a free educational curriculum for VetFarm Network program participants.
To access participant-only webinar materials, veterans complete a short intake first. This helps us understand your farm goals, stage, location, and resource needs.
Understanding soil health, conservation practices, and long-term land stewardship.
Efficient water use, conservation practices, and resources that can help farms complete water-related projects.
Getting started with the principles and practices of raising poultry on pasture.
Developing a clear farm business plan and identifying realistic next steps.
Fundamental financial management principles tailored to farm operations.
Strategies for managing farm risk and working with Farm Service Agency resources.
Benefits and strategies for diversifying farm enterprises, including sustainable agroforestry practices.
An overview of resources available to beginning farmers, with attention to military veterans.
Farm safety practices, accessibility considerations, and adaptive agriculture resources.
Basics of farm bookkeeping, recordkeeping, and organizing farm financial information.
Strategies for marketing farm products directly to customers.
Using regenerative agriculture principles and practices to restore land, improve soil, and support long-term farm health.
Practices that help farms manage water, weather extremes, soil cover, and long-term land health.
The VetFarm Network podcast and video channel provide another way to learn from farmer conversations, lived experience, and agricultural perspectives.
Episodes and videos support the Learning Network by giving participants flexible, on-demand access to stories, interviews, and practical discussions from the field.
This work is supported by the 2501 Program, project award no. GRANT14203436, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.
Join a monthly virtual gathering, request an intake for participant-only learning materials, or contact us about future Summits.