‘Tip of the spear’: Veterans Florida touts agriculture career opportunities for ex-service members

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A Florida nonprofit wants to help military veterans transition from the battlefield to the state’s agricultural fields, touting the many opportunities available in the Florida farming industry.

“In Florida, we produce over 300 different crops with about $7.75 billion in retail farm gate sales every year. The economic impact is much larger than that,” said Simon Bollin, agribusiness development manager at Hillsborough County Extension Services.

Bollin spoke as part of a webinar hosted by Veterans Florida, a state-created nonprofit to help veterans find civilian work. The group is offering services to help directly connect veterans with jobs or internships.

Thursday’s meeting aimed to spotlight various opportunities in agriculture — Florida’s second-largest industry behind tourism — that could appeal to former service members.

“What I see a lot with veterans is they get out of military service — whether it’s after four years or 24 years — and they lack purpose,” Bollin said.

“They were told how to dress, what to do. They had a mission. They were going out and defending the nation. And then they get out and they’re working at a 9-to-5 job in an office and that purpose is, in some cases, just not there. Agriculture, on the other hand, is a purpose-driven lifestyle. You have to want to do it.”

He added an appeal to ex-military members, in jest. “This is the best opportunity you’ll have to sweat your butt off, roll around in the dirt and not get shot at.”

Joe Follick, Veterans Florida communications and marketing director, led Thursday’s discussion, which often focused on the diversity of positions available in the agriculture industry.

“This is a high-tech industry. There is a wide breadth of experience needed and expertise needed,” Follick said.

Dr. Samira Daroub, professor and center director at the University of Florida (UF) Everglades Research and Education Center, echoed that message. Daroub is a researcher based in South Florida in the Glades area, an area popular for sugarcane farming, but which also features production of lettuce, radish, celery, sweet corn and other commodities.

“In Palm Beach County, there is a lack of skilled people in agriculture,” Daroub said.

“So one of the big job markets is the use of technology — computers, artificial intelligence, drones. A lot of our stakeholders here are using drones to be able to detect pests and diseases. And I can see some of the skills that the veterans have acquired in the Army would be very applicable to agriculture.”

Bollin echoed that message.

“You don’t just have to sit on a tractor. You can be selling produce in an air-conditioned office. You can be working on a piece of equipment. You can be doing logistics. You can be managing a field crew or managing irrigation systems or fixing technology. There’s a lot more technology in agriculture, and over the next five years, that will grow exponentially,” he explained.

“When you want to have a purpose and be at the tip of the spear, this is it.”

Veterans Florida allows veterans to search for job openings and internships online. Daroub said a veteran recently interned with UF and said it was a positive experience.

“I was very happy with the experience of the intern that was here at the University of Florida, at the research station,” Daroub said. “For us, it was a very good experience, helpful to us at the center. And I think they got a lot from that experience too. So both ways, it’s very beneficial.”

Tripp Hunter, director of state legislative affairs at the Florida Farm Bureau, emphasized the need for younger workers in the industry.

“The average age of a Florida farmer, I believe, is 58 years old,” Hunter said, adding that the number continues to go up.

“So having these conversations, developing leaders in ag — whether it’s the person out there producing the commodity, or servicing the commodity, or shipping the commodity or passing policies for the commodity — we’ve got to have advocates. Because if we don’t have food grown in Florida, we’re going to be in some trouble.”

Bollin expanded on the importance of Florida’s farmers.

“Food security is national security,” Bollin said. “Hungry people are desperate people, and you look at places around the world where food insecurity is very high, it also contributes to unrest and revolution and things of that nature. So when you have a well-fed population, you have, typically, a population that’s not only healthier and smarter, but also is less volatile.”

At least at the elected official level, Hunter said Florida’s agriculture community seems to be in a strong position.

“We’re in a unique position in terms of our representatives in Tallahassee,” Hunter said. “We’re lucky right now that we’ve got a Commissioner in Wilton Simpson, and a soon-to-be Senate President in Ben Albritton, and these guys are both farmers. They live it, they breathe it, they love it. If they didn’t see a need, they probably wouldn’t be legislators. I would say that they’re farmers first.”

Hunter also shouted out Sen. Jay Collins and Rep. Danny Alvarez, who also serve on the Veterans Florida Board.

“They’re two of our biggest advocates,” Hunter added. “These are two guys who champion what seems like all the right things in the state. And we just happen to be lucky that they view agriculture as one of those things.”

Follick closed the meeting by once again urging veterans looking for work to consider a career in the farming industry, and noted his organization is there to assist them.

“It’s an exciting opportunity for veterans, exciting opportunity to support the state and support our communities,” Follick said.

“We’re here to help. It’s no cost to you, we’ll get you connected to who you need to be connected with.”