BOISE – University of Idaho Extension is launching a new incarnation of its Harvest Heroes program in collaboration with the Farmer Veteran Coalition of Idaho and the city of Boise to prepare military veterans for careers in small-scale agriculture.

Extension is establishing a farm incubator for military veterans at Spaulding Ranch Park—a 20-acre, historic homestead owned and maintained by Boise Parks and Recreation. Participating veterans will work alongside Extension to grow a market garden, receiving regular hands-on instruction from Extension experts, guest presenters, and veteran farmer mentors.

The program will also offer flexible online training and monthly intensive workshops. Enrollment is free for participating veterans and their families, who will have season-long access to an orchard, a beekeeping apiary, a weekly onsite farmers market and accessible gardens featuring adaptive gardening technology for those with disabilities. Enrollment for the program is continuous.

Following a season of working together on the community plot, graduates will manage their own incubator plots to advance their farm business ideas with support and minimal risk.

UI Extension reached a memorandum of understanding with Boise in 2020 to assist with education and food production at the park, homesteaded in 1896 by the family of Boise’s first woman surgeon, Dr. Mary Spaulding.  

The teaching and incubator farm is a key component of a project funded by a three-year, $744,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant that Extension received in March. The grant will also fund hands-on training activities in northern Idaho and regional workshops connecting veteran farmers with each other and with USDA resources and programs. Furthermore, the funds will help Extension and partners establish military-friendly online resources and decision tools. 

“Idaho ranks seventh in the nation in veteran population, and for some, agriculture is a good fit for their considerable skills and desire to continue serving their country,” said UI Extension area educator Ariel Agenbroad, Ada County, who is the grant’s principal investigator. “We know that they encounter significant barriers to entry like access to land, education and training, peer mentorship, and sometimes service-connected disabilities. We hope to reach folks who are interested in learning to farm and provide them with a place and the resources to explore the possibilities, as well as veterans who are already farming so that we can support their success.”

Agenbroad is collaborating on the program with Connie May, an Extension colleague who dually represents the Farmer Veteran Coalition’s Idaho Chapter and is a retired U.S. Air Force member. Other major partners in the program include extension educator Iris Mayes, Latah County; Jeffrey Mason, assistive technology consultant with U of I’s Center on Disabilities and Human Development; the city of Boise; the Idaho Veterans Chamber of Commerce; and the Idaho State Department of Agriculture Idaho Preferred Program.

The grant will fund the establishment of greenhouses, sheds, push tillers, and other equipment for small-scale farming. The city has also prioritized improving the park, adding a new parking lot, a restroom, and a pack-and-wash station.

Produce grown by the Harvest Heroes program will be shared among participants and distributed through organizations supporting food-insecure veterans and community members.

The curriculum for the summer-long program is adapted from the first iteration of Harvest Heroes, which Agenbroad and May led from 2019 to 2022 in Nampa, and the Cultivating Success Program, which has been providing education, mentorship, and resources for beginning and experienced small-acreage farmers for more than 20 years.

“We are becoming so urban we feel lucky to be able to provide this space at the heart of the city,” said Lisa Duplessie, foothills and open space superintendent for the city of Boise. “We have long seen the vision of what this property could be and always knew U of I was one of the partners we wanted to work with. They have a huge agricultural presence, not just in the Treasure Valley, but also across the state.” 

Agenbroad aims to serve a combined group of about 45 veterans throughout the three years of the summer-long training.

Mindi Anderson, executive director and founder of the Idaho Veteran’s Chamber of Commerce, believes the Extension grant will fill a niche by helping veterans in the community heal and find purpose.

“Extension is creating a space for discussion about how we can support veterans in farming,” said Anderson, whose nonprofit organization offers free services to veterans and connects them with resources. “The more resources that we have to share and help our veterans get connected, the healthier they will be in the long run.”

Anyone wishing to become involved in the new Harvest Heroes program in Boise may contact Extension at harvestheroes@uidaho.edu.