Farm Ops

Veterans in Agriculture

Project Lead: Nina Saeli
Veterans Assistant: Tess Noble Strohm

There are approximately 19 million U.S military veterans, representing less than 10% of the total U.S. adult population. New York State is home to over 800,000 of that military veteran population. Not commonly known and understood, military service members have unique skill sets, which easily transfer to several agricultural or horticulture vocations.

Farm Ops provides the means for veterans, active duty service members, reservists, and members of the national guard to explore agricultural and horticulture avenues. These individuals may be seeking prospects to be their own boss, paths to connect with the soil or with nature, ventures to continue to serve the community in which they work and live, or just opportunities to connect with other veterans. Whatever their interests, Farm Ops aims to serve and support the men and women of NYS, who dedicated their lives in service and support of our nation.

Mission & Vision

To support military service members and veterans who desire to explore and/or pursue agricultural vocations.

  • Provide a framework within which veterans can connect with their community, other military veterans involved in agriculture, and resources including targeted programs, information networks, and organizations oriented towards helping veterans transition to agricultural vocations.
  • Grow the relationships between Farm Ops and the NYS military/veteran communities.
  • Assist in synchronizing the efforts of veteran service/support organizations and farmer-oriented service organizations to gain efficiencies and better align services to farmer veteran needs.

Farm Ops Resources

Join our email list to hear about new resources as they’re added.

Events

Events

Today

  • Air Pruned Raised Beds for Tree Seedling Production

    Dilmun Hill Farm 705 Dryden Rd, Ithaca, United States

    Join the Cornell Small Farms Program for a hands-on workshop introducing Air Pruned Raised Beds (APRBs) from construction to implementation. This session will cover APRB design, build, materials, growing media, […]

Farm Ops News and Updates

  • In the News: Koyanagi Describes Farm Ops Partnerships, Support Across NYS

    by

    Kelsie Raucher

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    With a recent expansion of the Canandaigua VA Medical Center’s “VA Farms” project, the Bath, NY VA Medical Center, will now be a second location for the project’s offerings. Our veterans project associate, Dean Koyanagi, was interviewed by WETM18 and provided insight on farmer-veteran programs.  The Canandaigua VA contracted our Farm Ops project to deliver…

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  • Farm Ops Project to Continue Event Series for Veterans in Agriculture

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    Kacey Deamer

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    The Farm Ops project continued its series of training workshops for veterans interested in agriculture throughout 2020. The initiative offered twelve single-day focused trainings, along with opportunities for participating veterans to connect with additional regional training programs, print materials, and online resources tailored to their individual interests. These events were free to attend and took…

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  • In the News: Farm Ops Featured in Veteran’s Day Podcast

    by

    Kelsie Raucher

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    In honor of Veteran’s Day, Cornell Cooperative Extension’s (CCE) podcast Extension Out Loud sat down with our own Dean Koyanagi to discuss the myriad programs and resources available to veterans interested in agriculture. A Marine Corps Veteran himself, Koyanagi joined the Cornell Small Farms Program to lead the Farm Ops project and support fellow veterans. …

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  • Conference Spotlight: SFP Presenting in Early 2019

    by

    Kelsie Raucher

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    The Cornell Small Farms Program will be attending several conferences in early 2019. From presentations of our research to special events, you can connect with the our team and fellow farmers at the conferences listed below. New York State Vegetable Growers Association  2019 Empire State Producer’s Expo Reduced Tillage Project: Ryan Maher, Brian Caldwell, &…

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  • In the News: Farm Ops Featured this Veteran’s Day

    by

    Kelsie Raucher

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    The Farm Ops project of the Cornell Small Farms Program provides expertise and community for veterans interested in agriculture across New York State. Connecting veterans with the Armed to Farm conference is often a first step in providing agricultural training and farm tours. If veterans want to make the transition into farming, the Small Farms Program…

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See the full archive from Farm Ops

nina-saeli-sfp-staff-headshot

About Nina Saeli

Nina joined the Small Farms Program in 2020 after five years of collaboration with the program as a beginning farmer.  She works to support both current and future farmer-veteran programming efforts. Nina’s transitioning from almost 20 years of military service into the civilian community helps to inform the program on how of some of the physical, social, and psychological challenges veterans face. Nina’s work aims to help transitioning veterans find solace in aspect of agriculture that supports that veterans health, self sustainability, community inclusion or other life goals.

Tess-Noble-Strohm-sfp-headshot

About Tess Noble Strohm

Tess joined the Small Farms Program in 2025 as a veterans project assistant with Farm Ops. Her love of the outdoors began by hunting for insects in her Brooklyn backyard as a child. After studying environmental science at Bard College, she worked on a small farm in the Hudson Valley, and then went on to study soil science at Colorado State University. Tess moved to Ithaca, NY, to work as a Research Support Specialist at the Cornell Soil Health Lab before joining the Farm Ops team where she helps veterans thrive in agriculture and ensures they have the tools and resources they need to succeed.

Subscribe for Updates and Opportunities

The Farm Ops SITREP is a monthly email digest built for farmer veterans. Emails will share upcoming events and training/educational opportunities, external news, curated agricultural articles, stories about fellow farmer veterans across New York State, and more.

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