Some Vets Turn to Farming to Overcome War Trauma

TAMPA, Fla. -- Chances are, many Americans' Thanksgiving dinnersare going to have food grown by U.S. military veterans who flocked to farming not only for a second career, but for therapy to overcome their war traumas.

These programs, either agricultural therapy or horticultural therapy, are used primarily, but not solely, by former or retired  Airmen, Marines, Sailors, and Soldiers, some of whom were also physically wounded and disabled during their deployments in Afghanistan or Iraq.

Nick Lemley, owner and operator of Devil Dawg Farms in Ringgold, Georgia, believes that the four aspects of military life, which can also be applied to veterans working on a farm, are "hard work, discipline, initiative, and having the drive to complete the job no matter what it takes."

Lemley, who served in the Marine Corps) for six years, had to decide what to do with the remainder of his life after his discharge. He and his wife, Hannah, came up with the idea of setting up a farm by acquiring acres of his grandfather's land in rural Catoosa County, Georgia.

Now, the Devil Dawg Farms produces both "products and foods," ranging from honey made by their bee farm, to farm animals such as goats, to even custom-made furniture.

Farmer-Veteran Coalition, a national organization that oversees such farms as Lemley's, is itself a branch of the Los Angeles-based California coalition called Community Partners, whose mission is "to help poor returning veterans find employment, training, and places to heal on America's farms."

"FVC provides veterans with informational resources on beginning farming operations, educational retreats, and when available, small grants," said FVC spokesmen Chris Ritthaler. "We cater our services to each vet individually, as different regions and types of agriculture have varied needs and resources available. "

These farms can range from producing beef and poultry to producing organic vegetables, not to mention maple syrup and beer or wine.

However, not all such farms require their workers to toil away for hours in the heat during harvest time.

The work at Warriors to Farmers, in Littleton, Colorado, is all done in greenhouses, where they grow food via hydroponics, a unique process of growing plants in sand, gravel, or liquid.

Hydroponic plants are grown without soil but with numerous nutrients, omitting the need for specially-designed farm equipments for disabled veteran employees -- although some greenhouses, which employ only four veterans, were retrofitted for those in wheel chairs.

"The labor is not hard work. Everything is in a greenhouse, so although labor intensive, it's not overly physically demanding," said farm owner Buck Adams, a  Marine veteran. The typical pay for these employees is 10 dollars an hour, in addition to free food from the farm.

Another pro-military veteran organization, Work Vessels for Veterans, which began in 2008 when a commercial fishing boat was donated to a returning military veteran, has grown so much that it now donates tools and tractors to military veterans who are undergoing agricultural or horticultural therapies.

"Farming is becoming a bigger piece of the WVFV universe for several reasons," said WVFV spokesman John Niekrash. "First, the U. S. economy is wobbly and jobs are scarce for returning vets. Second, the therapeutic wonders of working the land. Third, this is a way for vets with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) to help one another, which is extremely important to them."

Founded by long-time blueberry farmer Adam Burke, a former Army sergeant who served in Iraq, VF employs disabled military veterans to work in all capacities on the VF blueberry farm.

Shaun Valdivia, a former Marine now working at the Veterans Farm in Jacksonville, Fla., not only got a job but also good results in overcoming his war traumas. After his three deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq for four years, Valdivia suffered from anxiety, depression, Traumatic Brain injury and PTSD.

"When I first started at the farm, I was very shy, nervous, and anti-social," Valdivia told Xinhua. "However, Adam (Burke) has since then put me on two radio talk shows, a television interview, and has assigned me the task of Public Relation Coordinator in which I take and reply to people, phone calls, and e-mails."

Valdivia also has farm chores: a typical workday for him is to feed the farm animals at about sunrise, which is no easy task. VF has two bee hives, four turkeys, 10 chickens, six guinea hens, and two Nigerian Dwarf goats.

"The program (at Veterans Farm) is about challenging us, not giving us a free ride. Everyday that I'm able to step up and meet a challenge, it is one step closer to recovery. This gives me a sense of purpose and direction," said Valdivia.