Everything’s bigger in Texas, including our appetite for veteran-grown food. Turns out America’s farms are full of former fighters – over 370,000 agricultural producers have served in the Armed Forces, operating 17% of all U.S. farms and generating $41 billion in sales.
That’s right: the folks who once ran missions are now running tractors, and they’re disproportionately keeping our food system local and resilient.
The average age of these farmer-veterans is pushing 68 (farming and Vietnam will give you wrinkles), yet they continue to feed the nation with the same tenacity that got them through boot camp. This trend is strong in Texas, which boasts roughly 40,000 veteran farmers and ranchers doing everything from cattle ranching to beekeeping.
It’s a farm-to-table form of service – discipline, grit, and DIY problem-solving translating into better yields and maybe a few colorful war stories at the feed store.
On Memorial Day, skip the Big Ag potato salad and thank a veteran who’s literally still serving America, one crop at a time.