Farms of the Brave with Matt & Kara Rutter

Send us Fan MailI had the opportunity to interview 2 extremely dedicated and super insipring people who are veterans, farmers, educators, PHd students, and mentors for so many veterans who are considering a career in farming.  This is career #2 for both of them. But Why did they pick Farming?With one-third of American farmers over the age of 60, there is a critical shortage of individuals entering the agriculture industry. At the same time, there is a  record number of veterans experiencing  unemployment, PTSD, suicide, and other challenges that naturally follow almost two decades of sustained war.​Matthew and Kara Rutter, discuss their journey into farming post-military and why they are on a mission to increase the number of farmers while helping their fellow veterans.  Matt & Kara have created a few business models all focused on helping veterans get into farming and successfully stay in farming including Project Victory Gardens, Farms of the Brave, Farmer’s Bootcamp which is like a mini shark tank experience for wannabe farmers, Rutter’s ranch which is their own for profit farm business, and there are also projects that have been born out of their PHD pursuits in agriculture.  Matt & Kara are connected to Jeanette Lombardo from  Farmer’s Veteran Coalition, the Global Agritorusim NEtwork and Will Culler from Clemson U who coordinates  the ag and art tours in South Carolina.  Join me as we learn more about how Matt & Kara are motivating our veterans to pursue all sorts of careers in farming. Farms of the BraveRutters Ranch Project Victory Gardens Farmer BootcampFarmers Veteran Coalition South Carolina's Ag & Art Tour Thank you for taking the time to listen to The Agri-Tourist Podcast, for supporting our inspirational guests, and for sharing my personal journey back to agriculture.  Agri-Tourist.comHeartBeet FarmsInstagramAbout Jen Ross, The Agri-Tourist Podcast HostGlobal Agritourism Network