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Indiana farmer says agriculture provides benefits to veterans 

The owner of At East Orchard in central Indiana says the ag industry provides opportunities for veterans to thrive in life after service. 

Joe Ricker tells Brownfield, “We’re an educational farm that helps veterans learn what they can do and what opportunities are out there for them. We have a little bit of everything from goats, apple trees, and bees. We also have a high tunnel that was provided by the Natural Resource Conservation Service.”

He says transitioning into agriculture can be challenging.

“Find what your passion in agriculture is and then grow from there,” he says. “It’s not a quick process to get into agriculture, but there’s a lot of support out there with the USDA, NRCS, Farm Bureau, and AgrAbility.”

Ricker is a veteran outreach coordinator with Indiana AgrAbility, the founder of Veterans IN Farming, and is a volunteer with Heros to Hives. He also recently launched the VetFarm Podcast to continue to share the story of agriculture.

AUDIO: Joe Ricker