AGRICULTURE
Harrison tends to seedlings at Soil Born Farms , an urban farm that provides fruits , vegetables , flowers and agricultural resources to the community . PHOTO BY WES DAVIS
grant from the USDA tailored to Northern California and aimed at helping former military members find career paths growing food .
The city is also home to one of the FVC ’ s key partners , the Center for Land- Based Learning , which has long been spearheading broader efforts to bring new farmers into the profession .
The FVC was started in 2007 by Michael O ’ Gorman , who wanted veterans returning from war to have tranquil , meaningful careers outdoors . In California , the nonprofit ’ s work includes providing financial and logistical support — and business training — to veterans who own everything from small greenhouses and 3,000-acre spreads to heritage cattle ranches and Christmas tree farms .
“ There are different steps , depending on the person , so we try to meet everybody where they ’ re at and then take them to the next level ,” says FVC Executive Director Jeanette Lombardo . “ We wanted to be in Woodland because we felt it has a huge history as an agricultural town , and there ’ s also just a lot of community support for veterans here .”
One veteran who knows that ’ s true is Alex Jauregui . FVC helped him expand Fury Bees , his beekeeping farm in Woodland from 75 to 1,200 hives . Jauregui was born in Mexico and grew up working in Northern California ’ s fields as a child . After graduating , he joined the U . S . Army and served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan . On his final deployment , Jauregui stepped on an improvised explosive device , shredding his body , ultimately costing him both legs and some of his fingers . Those injuries took a long time to recover from but they haven ’ t stopped Jauregui from becoming a beekeeper . The FVC assisted his career development by teaming him with a beekeeping mentor who was also a veteran , as well as buying him a hybrid tractor-forklift .
“ The best thing my husband got from Farmer Veteran Coalition was mentorship ,” says Juaregui ’ s wife , Isa Marie McIntyre , who ’ s also an Army vet . “ In terms of the forklift , it ’ s a lot of hard work lifting bee boxes even if you have your legs , because they ’ re really heavy . And whenever there ’ s anything that is easier for him physically , it has a real impact on him mentally , because he ’ s not in as much pain . … Him not having that physical strain anymore really helped on the family side , too .”
McIntyre was so impressed by what FVC did for her husband that she recently joined its staff and started overseeing the federal Enhancing Agricultural Op-
40 comstocksmag . com | February 2022