The North Carolina Cooperative Extension is hosting a program aimed at assisting soldiers transitioning into careers in agriculture after serving on active duty.
The is a five-week long course in Cumberland County. Service members can join the program within 180 days of their separation date from the Army.
The program is offered through a partnership between and . Liz Joseph, who鈥檚 leading the effort, said it's the only one of its kind that has a partnership with , formerly known as Fort Bragg, to train service members.
鈥淲e spend about three weeks in our classroom and traveling to area farms,鈥� Joseph said. 鈥淎nd then the last two weeks, we set these folks up with on-farm internships, so they can get more hands-on and more knowledge.鈥�
Some classes include agriculture law, beekeeping and livestock population.
鈥淭he program is critical because there鈥檚 not enough people replacing older farmers,鈥� Joseph said. 鈥淭he average age of our farmer is about 59-years-old. It used to be [that] the average age was around 57 and each year, it seems to increase. And the younger generation doesn't seem to want to take over farming.鈥�
The 鈥淪oldiers to Agriculture鈥� sessions start next week on Tuesday, Jan. 16.
