Purdue workshop aims to help veterans interested in farming

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) – A Purdue University program that introduces people to agriculture is hosting a workshop just for veterans and active service members considering a life in farming.

The May 1 workshop sponsored by Purdue’s Beginning Farmer and Rancher program begins at the Deer Creek Community Center in Camden.

Participants also will travel to nearby Freebird Farm & Homestead for a tour of that veteran-owned farm near the north-central Indiana town of Walton. The farm produces pasture-raised chickens, sheep and goats using environmentally friendly agricultural practices.

Cindy Chastain is the farmer veteran coordinator for the Purdue-based National AgrAbility Project. She says workshop organizers hope to “inspire veterans to farm by showing them how other veterans are already farming successfully.”

The workshop and tour is free, but registration is required and space is limited.