Funds offered to military farmers

Pale yellow spaghetti squash (left) have stringy flesh cooks liken to spaghetti, and Butterkin squash (right) tastes like a cross between butternut squash and pumpkin. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette/JANET B. CARSON)
Pale yellow spaghetti squash (left) have stringy flesh cooks liken to spaghetti, and Butterkin squash (right) tastes like a cross between butternut squash and pumpkin. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette/JANET B. CARSON)

The state Department of Agriculture and Farm Credit Associations of Arkansas are offering a $1,000 scholarship to veterans and active duty military personnel to learn how to produce specialty crops.

Applications for the program are due Sept. 1 and can be found at https://bit.ly/3zWUeYf.

The comprehensive training program is for new or beginner specialty crop producers, and the program will be offered at the Center for Arkansas Farm and Food's Farm School.

The Farm School is an 11-month program at the Milo Shult Ag Research and Extension Center at the University of Arkansas's Fayetteville campus that starts in January and will feature 20 hours of classes and farm work each week at a total cost of $2,500.

Applicants for the scholarship will be selected based on goals for their farm or ranch, career goals, experience and financial need, and preference will be given to Arkansas Homegrown by Heroes members, though membership is not a requirement for the scholarship.

Homegrown By Heroes is a state Department of Agriculture program that aims to assist farmer veterans in marketing their locally-grown agricultural products as "veteran-produced."

Funding for the Homegrown by Heroes scholarship will be provided by Farm Credit.


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