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Life’s Next Ag-venture

Capital Farm Credit helps veterans through its contribution to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension’s BattleGround to Breaking Ground Skills Training Program.

By Hilary Nguyen ’26

Photos provided by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

December 5, 2023


With a family history in agriculture that spans four generations back to the Mississippi Delta, Charles Hannah knew he wanted to enter the field as he prepared to return home from Afghanistan in 2009. But with all his family’s farming enterprises gone, he was stuck looking for an entry point into a generational career. When he stumbled upon an ad for the BattleGround to Breaking Ground Skills Training Program years later, he didn’t hesitate to apply. “That ad changed my life trajectory,” Hannah said.

Developed in 2016 through a partnership between the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture Beginning Farmer Rancher Development Program, BattleGround to Breaking Ground set out to combat the aging farmer population and teach interested beginning farmers and ranchers the basics of agriculture business. Since inception, the program has transformed from a one-day workshop to a four-phase, year-long program that allows participants to receive hours of hands-on training and develop their business plans. Another grant from the USDA in 2019 allowed AgriLife to develop an offshoot program specifically for transitioning military members through a Department of Defense Skillbridge Program. In 2022, the program accepted its first cohort.

A Groundbreaking Gift

Designed specifically for transitioning military members who are in their final 180 days of service, the Skills Training Program provides participants a bridge into farming and ranching. Because it’s a job training program, the military releases these soon-to-be veterans to complete their training while they are still earning a paycheck from the Department of Defense.

“Recognizing that many veterans come from rural areas and want to return home after their service, we developed this program to help them find meaningful employment that enables them to continue serving their country in a new avenue,” said Erin Kimbrough ’13, BattleGround’s program manager. “The program facilitates new career pathways for transitioning military and others, guiding them toward their next steps in life while also strengthening the communities they call home.”
 

Capital Farm Credit is dedicated to helping veterans capitalize on their passion for agriculture by supporting training opportunities that allow them to build their skills off the battlefield.

Even though the Skills Training Program is a condensed 17-week version of the original one-year BattleGround program, it optimizes participants’ schedules to maximize their outcomes. The program attracts participants from all over the world, from Fort Hood to Japan. During the program, they complete online coursework two days a week and hands-on training on a Texas farm or ranch three days a week with one of the program’s trained mentors, who previously graduated from the program. Upon completing the program, participants not only develop a comprehensive business plan but also accumulate about 400 hours of hands-on training.

The initiative caught the interest of Capital Farm Credit, the largest agricultural lender in Texas. In recognition of its impactful work, the organization gave an $8,000 gift for the training program, enhancing its long-term sustainability and the number of Texas farms and ranches directly under the operation of military veterans. “At Capital Farm Credit, we are always looking for new ways to help support or facilitate the transition of veterans from active duty to the world of agriculture,” said Jeff Norte, chief executive officer. “When we see a program that draws in people from all over the world, it highlights the need for knowledge in this particular domain, and we want to provide support to help bridge that gap.”

The organization’s funds will support scholarship opportunities for two additional transitioning veterans. “In a way, the value of the gift is tripled as it provides funding for participants, mentors and business planning instructors,” Kimbrough said. With the money, mentees can start incubator farming, where they will receive support and resources from their mentors to develop their own agricultural ventures. They can purchase resources like livestock and take that livestock with them to their own farm once they graduate. One of the largest barriers for beginning farmers and ranchers is access to capital for land and equipment. “Through their mentors, participants gain farm management experience, a prerequisite for many agriculture funding sources, opening up access to a lot more capital to start their own ranches after they graduate,” Kimbrough added.
 

Cohort Connections

With its gift, Capital Farm Credit is also enabling participants to access a lifelong network filled with like-minded individuals, which Hannah believes is an invaluable part of the program. “Without having a mentor and the Skills Training Program, the struggles of starting my own farm from the ground up would have been much harder, and I would have been more tempted to find another day job,” he said. “When you find someone who is a farmer and a veteran, there is an immediate camaraderie.”
 

“We are honored to do our part to ensure veterans have resources available for involvement in agricultural production.”
- Jeff Norte

Hannah isn’t alone in this sentiment. After serving 20 years in the U.S. Army as a veterinarian,
Dr. Sandi Parriott ’84 ’92 decided she wanted to explore agriculture through the Skills Training Program. She found that learning from a program graduate—particularly what they got right and wrong—enriched her experience and proved valuable in the development of her business proposal. However, it is the support mentors offer beyond farming guidance that makes the program unparalleled.

“The thing with having a veteran mentor is that we have experienced difficulties that most of the population cannot believe,” she said. “Having someone else who has been there and understands when you’re having a bad day or just need someone to talk to is indescribable.”

The contribution from Capital Farm Credit will afford other veterans the opportunity to receive the same experience as Hannah and Parriott. However, its magnitude goes beyond farming, as these graduates will apply their newfound skills to serve not only themselves but also their communities. “We are honored to do our part to ensure veterans have resources available for involvement in agricultural production,” Norte said. “Together, we are in the industry of serving people, and that common goal is still what we’re trying to do—impact a better tomorrow.”

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