About CT Veteran Grown

Jared McCool and Mat Wilkinson
Jared McCool and Mat Wilkinson are Connecticut Farmer Veterans
Supporting Our Heroes

Nurturing Connecticut Farmer Veterans

Connecticut Veteran Grown is a three-year program designed to give the state’s Farmer Veterans marketing assistance and resources to help them succeed. The program is funded through a grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration and administered by Connecticut Resource Conservation & Development (CT RC&D).

CT RC&D is a nonprofit that has supported the state’s farming community since 1968 through a variety of environmental and agricultural programs. Together with the Connecticut Farmer Veteran Coalition, they are creating a CT Veteran Farmer Resource Hub, developing a CT Veteran Grown marketing campaign, and serving Veteran farmers across Connecticut with technical help and marketing assistance.

Goals of the Program

CT Veteran Grown has many strategies to help CT Farmer Veterans succeed.

  • Close the Gap

    Remove barriers to advance Connecticut Veterans in agriculture.

  • Smooth the Transition

    Support Farmer Veterans as they build a career in agriculture and assimilate back to civilian life.

  • Pathway to Success

    Give Farmer Veterans access to programs, resources, and services from state and federal agencies.

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  • Create Networks

    Build relationships among Farmer Veterans in the state with the potential for building future cooperatives.

  • Build Cameraderie

    Enable farmers to learn from others who have also served in the military. This builds a professional community.

  • Pay it Forward

    Provide job training and youth education in the field of conservation.

Connecticut Homegrown by Heroes logo
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Homegrown by Heroes Logo Program

Homegrown by Heroes is a program for Connecticut producers who are also veterans. The program allows veteran members to add the Homegrown by Heroes logo to their CT Grown farm products so that consumers can easily identify it and support veteran-owned businesses.

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Veterans in Connecticut
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CT Farmers with Military Experience
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Agricultural Acres in Connecticut

Two Primary Strategies

The CT Veteran Grown Program will look at two key strategies to support and promote farmers. The first offers one-on-one marketing assistance, and the second promotes Farmer Veterans across Connecticut. 

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Marketing Resource Hub

CT Veteran Grown is building a resource hub for CT Farmer Veterans. The resource hub offers a menu of options including marketing assistance, professional photography, website development, social media training, and customer growth. The hub also offers a variety of in-person and virtual marketing training sessions specific to Veteran Farmers, so it’s convenient to participate.

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CT Veteran Grown Marketing Campaign

We are creating a robust CT Veteran Grown Marketing Campaign, working with the Connecticut Department of Agriculture and a number of marketing professionals. The goal is to create public awareness around CT Veteran Grown products through branding, our new website, marketing materials, social media, and promotional videos and ads.

Our Partners

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