Operation Grow introduces agriculture industries to veterans

By Alison James

FCT Managing Editor

Alison.james@fct.wpengine.com

Fruit production was the focus of a recent class at the Franklin County Extension. Helping veterans get started in agriculture was a primary goal, with the class being part of a new program, Operation Grow.

“We’re very excited about the future of the project,” said Chris Becker, program coordinator and county extension coordinator for Limestone County. “With Extension, our mission is to reach whoever needs assistance, and veterans have been a group that, in my observation, we really haven’t reached out to. Anything we can do to help them out, they deserve every bit of it.”

Operation Grow was made possible through a grant from the Northwest RC&D  (research, conservation and development) Council, which allowed the Extension to develop the promotional materials, the curriculum and the branding for the program. Classes have included cattle production, soils, small ruminant production and commercial vegetable production.

“The idea has caught fire,” said Becker, adding that a number of agencies have expressed interest in coming on board to assist with the program. “It’s getting a lot of publicity.”

As Operation Grow expands, Becker plans for a twice-a-year schedule with locations rotating around the state. He said he would like to offer the classes near military bases in Alabama, like Redstone Arsenal, Maxwell Air Force Base and Fort Rucker.

Becker said although he is eager to increase participation, their focus is to work with a handful of truly motivated people to the point where they are ready to start a new business or pursue other agricultural opportunities.

“Veterans are the best group geared toward that,” Becker said. “They are mission-oriented. Failure is not an option. When they start something, they finish it.”

One such veteran who has been attending the classes is Franklin County native Dennis Sell. Sell, who now lives in Colbert County, is a Master Gardener who his been involved in planting his whole life. He called Operation Grow a “fantastic program.”

“I wish more veterans would get involved in it,” Sell said.

Sell served with the 4th Armored Division, artilleries unit, in the U.S. Army from September 1966 to July 1968 in the Cold War in Germany. But as an avid gardener, he said he has enjoyed sharing information he learns in Operation Grow with fellow veterans, and he hopes to share with family members who might be interested in agriculture, which is, as he said, “a gold mine for anyone.”

“I enjoy doing the fruit farming and the vegetable gardening, too,” he said. “There’s such a variety of different things you can be doing.”

Classes have been held throughout northwest Alabama beginning mid-March. At Thursday’s class, participants learned what kind of fruit crops grow well in Alabama – blueberries, blackberries, peaches, apples and pears, for example – as well as what variety of each fruit flourishes and how to manage and maintain the different crops. “It’s just fruit production 101, from A to Z,” Becker said.

Thursday’s class was taught by Doug Chapman, regional extension agent for commercial horticulture, and Dan Porch, former commercial horticulture agent and current agent for Blount County.

“I always try to find the best possible speakers,” said Becker, who has reached out to different avenues based on the class being held, like inviting a soil agronomist from Auburn University for the soils class.

Katernia Cole, county extension coordinator for Franklin County, praised Operation Grow.

“I think it’s a wonderful program to help our military veterans,” said Cole, who envisioned participants becoming active at farmer’s markets or even growing to sell to local restaurants. “Anything we can do to help our military veterans, we need to do it.”

For more information on Operation Grow, contact Becker at 256-766-6223. The next class will be integrated pest management, held in Tuscumbia.