Special series

Connecting a Tempeh Producer and Northeast Health Care Groups to Get Local Protein in Hospitals

The word soybeans might conjure up pictures of fields with rows upon rows of the popular commodity crop. But for Sarah Speare, a founder of Tootie’s Tempeh in Biddeford, Maine, soybeans are the protein in a traditional meat substitute that offers plenty of health benefits. 

Not everyone has heard of tempeh. “It’s a super food,” Sarah says. It’s incredibly high in protein and nutrients. It’s fermented, so it’s good for your gut. And it’s made from just three simple, clean ingredients: soybeans, vinegar, and starter culture. So, people need to eat it!”

NCAT’s sustainable agriculture team and two other organizations – Health Care Without Harm and the Plant Forward Future Project – partnered to form a producer cohort in the Northeast to develop and market plant-based proteins to hospitals. The project is funded by a USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant, and Sarah is part of the producer cohort. 

“NCAT/ATTRA has been a great partner and advocate for our work through a podcast we did with them and especially through their programs that support the sourcing of organic grains and legumes from Maine farmers,” Sarah says. 

“Their work with the Hospital Without Harm initiative has also helped us get more visibility as a healthy locally sourced protein in front of potential customers who make decisions for what workers and patients are offered at hospitals. We have also enjoyed working with them to make a Maine event happen that includes sampling our food and a tour of our facility.” 

Tootie’s Tempeh developed a method for fermenting its product in metal pans instead of single-use plastic bags, which is the practice of much of the industry.  

The company uses organic soybeans and sources them regionally, and it is developing a franchise structure that creates a network of other regional production facilities. That allows the tempeh from Tootie’s to have regional suppliers regardless of where its stores are created. 

Tootie’s Tempeh reflects Sarah’s values – that “essential food can help support the well-being of people, animals, and the planet.”  

It’s also organized as a worker-owned cooperative, as Sarah puts it, “to help support a more democratic economy where workers are the decision makers and share in the profits. 

“I viewed (tempeh) as a sleeping giant ready to be woken up,” she adds. “Plant-based protein are skyrocketing, and consumers are eating more for their health and to decrease their carbon footprint. It really seemed like the right time to help tempeh become a household staple.” 

Montana Military Veteran Champions the Power of ‘Armed to Farm’ Alumni Network

“Learning to farm is more than a notion,” Armed to Farm alum and Montana farmer-veteran Lawrence Rhone recently told KRQE-TV. “It’s another language.” 

Rhone is among nearly 1,000 military veterans who’ve completed the hands-on, intensive Armed to Farm training program. First launched in 2013 through a cooperative agreement with USDA-Rural Development, Armed to Farm is funded in part by ATTRA. That same year, Rhone bought his farm in northeast Montana.  

Now, Rhone is a vocal advocate for the Armed to Farm program, and he has said that a unique value of the program is the lasting relationships that have formed among the network of alum. For new farmer veterans just getting started, he said there’s no other program like Armed to Farm. 

“Get to an Armed to Farm alumnus or contact NCAT because you have put together a tremendous program that helps you figure out how to break the ice.”  

The weeklong Armed to Farm training features farm tours and hands-on activities at a variety of successful farms. Participants learn from seasoned farmers and gain direct experience on livestock, vegetable, fruit, and agritourism operations. Farmer veterans learn how to create a business plan and market their products, access USDA programs, set business goals, and develop mentorships with seasoned farmers. 

“We don’t just have classroom time. We leave the classroom and go to farms of veterans who are walking the walk and that is powerful,” said Rhone. “When we went into the military, that’s the same way we did that type of training.” 

Missouri Army Veteran Finds New Mission in Sustainable Agriculture

Dustin Cook left the U.S. Army in 2014 after a decade as an active-duty serviceman and later officer. He’s one of more than 350,000 veteran or active-duty service members involved in farming in the United States. He’s also among an elite group of about 900 farmer veterans who have completed the Armed to Farm training program first launched in 2013 through a cooperative agreement with USDA-Rural Development. Armed to Farm is funded in part by ATTRA.  

Now, Cook runs the Veteran’s Urban Farm in Columbia, Missouri. It’s part of a nonprofit organization called the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture. In coordination with the Truman VA Hospital, the Veteran’s Urban Farm provides veterans with therapeutic, vocational, and recreational horticulture training and activities. Cook says veterans learn everything from starting seeds to managing a market stand. Everything the veterans grow at the 1.3-acre urban farm is harvested and donated to fellow vets once per week at the local VA.  

Cook describes struggling to transition from active-duty military life to finding his place in a civilian world, noting that sustainable agriculture was one piece that has given him a new mission and passion.  

“It’s given me a lot of drive to help other veterans dealing with those same transition struggles,” he says. “I have a real passion for helping other folks – they don’t have to muddle through by themselves – I can say I’ve been where you’re at.”  

Cook attended a week-long Armed to Farm training in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in 2021. Once he returned, he says he talks to any farmer-veteran looking for beginning farmer resources, encouraging them to turn to ATTRA and Armed to Farm.  

“The thing that really makes Armed to Farm better than the rest is that it’s the complete package. They do a really good job of presenting a lot of information and resources in a short amount of time while also creating interface time with local veteran farmers,” Cook explains. “The fact that all of that is provided free of charge is a huge benefit – there’s a barrier to entry in ag and finance is one of the biggest parts of that, so being able to go for free and learn as a veteran getting into agriculture – that’s just absolutely invaluable.” 

Ranchers Regenerate Texas Hill Country with Soil for Water

Texas farmers Jeremiah and Maggie Eubank are among a growing network of farmers, ranchers, and land managers across the United States who are taking steps to catch and hold more water in the soil with the aim of regenerating the land and strengthening their businesses.  

Nearly 215 farms and ranches have joined the free and voluntary Soil for Water network, a regenerative agriculture project supported in part by NCAT and ATTRA. The project aims to include farmers and ranchers who discover and share land management practices that improve soil health, catch more water in soil, reduce erosion, sustain diverse plant and animal life, and filter out pollutants, all while improving the profitability of their businesses. 

First-generation farmers Jeremiah and Maggie Eubank manage 2,000 acres in Texas Hill Country. They’re raising cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, and ducks on land between San Antonio and Austin. It’s beautiful, tough land that Maggie Eubank says has been overgrazed for a century. They’re working to change that.   

“The Soil for Water Project is connecting us with a network of other ranchers who are doing what they can to use animals to grow more grass and keep more water in the ground,” Eubank explains. “Regenerating this ranch is the focus of our job, but we can also show other ranchers and farmers that it can be a viable business.”  

The high interest in grass-fed, sustainably produced meat and locally grown products is not only an economic benefit to these producers like the Eubanks, but also a quality-of-life benefit to their communities when healthy, locally produced food is available in neighborhood markets.

Armed to Farm Alum Sees Growing Vegetables As a Link to the Past, Key to the Future

Randal Kelly and his dad started growing corn and squash on their family agriculture plot on the Navajo Nation back in 2019. Now in his fourth growing season, Kelly has added in more root vegetables, flowers, and herbs. At most, they’re growing on a one-acre section of their 10-acre plot. Kelly says this is just the start.  

“I would like to produce vegetables for the whole Navajo Nation, and the whole southwest,” he says. “We have the land and resources; they’re just not being worked.” 

Kelly was among a group of farmer veterans who gathered in New Mexico recently for a weeklong Armed to Farm training. He’s one of more than 350,000 veteran or active-duty service members involved in farming in the United States. Kelly is also now one of more than 900 farmer veterans who have completed the Armed to Farm training program first launched in 2013 through a cooperative agreement with USDA-Rural Development. Armed to Farm is funded in part by ATTRA.  

Kelly was in the U.S. Army from 2001 to 2006, but he’s deeply rooted in agriculture. He lives on the same land he was raised on, and as a kid was in 4-H and FFA. He learned about the free Armed to Farm training through the Navajo Nation Department of Agriculture, applied, and was selected.  

Randal Kelly New Mexico Armed to Farm“It was cool to see and hear stories about how farmers started similar to where I’m at right now and how they learned to use grants, have the drive, and make it a business,” he says. “I loved the training; it was amazing.”  

He adds the training was well planned, and the classroom sessions were paired with hands-on examples of the same topic. For Kelly, he says it was invaluable to see grant programs and sustainable agriculture methods at work. Plus, he says connecting with other like-minded farmers will continue to be a well of information.  

“My biggest thing right now is we’re a culture that grew vegetables and at some point, we lost that. I have black and white photos of my grandma standing next to 10-foot-high cornstalks – I want to be like that; that’s my goal. It’s part of our tradition that we’re losing.” 

Kelly says he took home ideas on how to mitigate erosion and conserve water, and on managed grazing techniques and cover cropping.  

“We are considered a food desert; we don’t have foods that are local,” Kelly says. “For me, it’s important that I provide better nutrition to my people. My mind is racing thinking about all the things I can do.” 

NCAT’s Soil for Water Member, Armed to Farm Alum Sees Healthy Soil as the Key to Healthy Food

Mississippi farmer James Burch is among a growing network of farmers, ranchers, and land managers across the United States who are taking steps to catch and hold more water in the soil with the aim of regenerating the land and strengthening their businesses.  

More than 150 farms and ranches have joined the free and voluntary Soil for Water network, a regenerative agriculture project supported in part by NCAT and ATTRA. The project aims to include farmers and ranchers who discover and share land management practices that improve soil health, catch more water in soil, reduce erosion, sustain diverse plant and animal life, and filter out pollutants, all while improving the profitability of their businesses. 

Burch’s Mississippi farm has been in his family for a century. After a long military career, it’s only recently that he started putting the land back into production. He’s passionate about locally grown produce, grass-fed beef, and pasture-raised pigs. His main concern is mitigating erosion and ensuring that the soil on his land doesn’t wash away into nearby waterways. That’s why Burch joined the Soil for Water network. 

“It’s important to build the soil to the point that you’ve got some kind of cover on it, and any time you get these big rains, it doesn’t take your topsoil to another area,” said Burch. “The vision for my farm is big. I’m taking it one step at a time and using proven methodologies to grow healthy food above ground and maintain healthy soil below ground.”  

In addition to being an early Soil for Water network member, Burch is also an alum of NCAT and ATTRA’s Armed to Farm program.

Value-Added Products, Agritourism are the Keys to Success for Maine’s SeaLyon Farm

When Don and Marcia Lyons started SeaLyon Farm in 2017, it was what they describe as a “clean slate.”    

“ATTRA got us started on the right foot and gave us the right connections and guidance to navigate the Maine farmer support system and resources that exist already, but that can feel like drinking from a fire hose for the beginning farmer,” Don wrote. 

In particular, the Lyons took part in the Armed to Farm training program, along with more than 800 other farmer veterans since it was launched in 2013 through a cooperative agreement with USDA-Rural Development. Armed to Farm is funded in-part by ATTRA.  

Now the farm, located in Alna, and nestled in the beautiful mid-coast Maine area just inland from Wiscasset, produces a host of organically grown vegetables, fruit (currently raspberries and elderberries), lavender, pumpkins, and honey. The harvest includes hay, as well. 

The Lyons also offer an assortment of value-added products such as pickles, salsa, 11 flavors of jam, and herbal tea. They turn the lavender they grow and the honey and beeswax they gather into lip balm, beard balm, candles, and lavender essential oil. 

Speaking of adding value, the farm also has become the site of Alna Fair, what Lyons calls “a surprisingly popular agritourism venue” on its 34 acres.  

“We run events year-round, and this was the secret to our success through the COVID-19 crisis,” Lyons wrote. Outdoor activities with lots of hand sanitizer (on every wagon), horse-drawn wagons and sleighs, good food, a bonfire, and games for the kids. This continues to be a growing attraction for the Alna area and looks to have a promising future; as the farm grows, so will the events.” 

Fortune and hard work can take a farm in many directions, but Lyons believes NCAT’s sustainable-agriculture programs can be wind at farmers’ backs as they start the journey. 

“The Armed to Farm established the foundation that a beginning farmer with even a moderate drive could build upon and be successful. Whether you want to farm livestock or vegetables, all the information is there to be employed. 

“I would most wholeheartedly recommend NCAT/ATTRA not just to veterans, but to any beginning farmer, whether it’s through Armed to Farm or any of their other workshops or programs to come. I am sure they will be well founded and fruitful! (Pun intended.)” 

Growing Organic in Indiana with Support from Armed to Farm

Sara Creech, an Air Force veteran, has been farming in Indiana since 2012, and says she knew from the beginning that she wanted her farm to be certified organic. She’s one of more than 350,000 veteran or active-duty service members involved in farming in the United States. She’s also one of more than 800 farmer veterans who have completed the Armed to Farm training program first launched in 2013 through a cooperative agreement with USDA-Rural Development. Armed to Farm is funded in part by ATTRA. 

Although Creech had no farming experience when she moved to her place back in 2012, you would never guess it seeing her farm today. We visited Sara’s operation, Blue Yonder Organic Farm. With help from Creech, along with the Farmer Veteran Coalition of Indiana and AgrAbility, we hosted an Armed to Farm training in Crawfordsville, Indiana, in 2019. We spent a sunny May afternoon with a group of some 20 veterans touring Creech’s farm and learning from her experiences. 

Blue Yonder Organic Farm is a picturesque 43-acre diversified farm about an hour west of Indianapolis. Creech produces certified organic chicken, beef, and lamb, as well as certified organic vegetables. In addition, she sells eggs, honey, mushrooms, and maple syrup. She sells her products through farmers markets and some contract growing. 

It is inspiring to have watched Creech progress from a beginning farmer in 2013 when she attended our very first Armed to Farm training in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to a successful farmer and seasoned mentor teaching a new cohort of farmer veterans. And Creech is just one of many Armed to Farm alumni finding and sharing their passion and purpose in farming. As agriculture educators, we really couldn’t ask for more. 

“The Armed to Farm program is THE reason I was able to get started in farming. The opportunity to connect with other veterans and support each other’s dreams was life changing,” Creech said. “The education and support from NCAT/ATTRA guided me through starting a profitable farm that fuels my new–found passion for farming.”

Learn more about Creech in this archived Voices from the Field podcast episode, Veterans Discuss USDA Programs.

From the Air Force to Growing Clothes

Alvina Maynard likes to say she didn’t seek out alpaca ranching, rather it found her. Maynard is a military veteran in Richmond, Kentucky. It was during a hotel stay while she was still with the Air Force that she saw a commercial about alpacas being farmed as livestock. And the rest is history.  

Today, Maynard and her family operate River Hill Ranch. “We grow clothes,” she says. River Hill has evolved into a greater mission of regenerative agriculture and education. Not only is she growing clothes but she has also developed children’s educational programs and an agritourism operation. River Hill Ranch is selling their Kentucky-grown, American-made alpaca sweaters, socks, and hats at the Lexington Farmers Market, through an online store, and in an on-site gift shop. For Maynard, being part of the resurgence in American-made sustainable manufacturing is a big deal. “Our value-added manufacturing happens within a 400-mile radius of our farm. All our products are grown regeneratively, and manufactured using sustainable methods right here in the U.S.”  

Alvina Maynard River Hill Ranch 2Maynard says when she set out to launch her alpaca farm, she had no idea of the sustainable agriculture resources and farmer-veteran community that already existed. “When I came on to my land, it wasn’t in great shape,” she says. “I overgrazed my fields when I first started. I didn’t know how to manage ruminants correctly. ATTRA gave me the tools I needed to be able to do that. Not only did my land rebound, but the forage production per acre has at least doubled if not tripled because of the resources ATTRA empowered me with. I am now able to grow much more with less.”  

Maynard credits ATTRA and our sustainable agriculture experts who’ve provided the alpaca industry with technical assistance with changing the industry for the better. “ATTRA influenced a whole livestock industry in the U.S. to rethink how they were managing their livestock in a way that regenerates the soil.” 

Maynard was recently a guest on ATTRA’s podcast series, Voices from the Field. Give it a listen!