Kate Bowen has been heavily involved with Farmer Veteran Coalition for a decade, but she stepped into an even larger role in April as project manager with the national office.
As a project manager, Kate is tasked to FVC’s AgVets apprenticeship program, providing case management and working with FVC’s five educational partners as well as on USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) outreach programs specifically assisting members negatively affected by natural disasters.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity to serve our nation’s Veteran community and am looking forward to meeting more members at our conference,” she said.
Kate has been hosting monthly informational webinars about working with the USDA, especially targeting FVC’s beginning farmers. She also created an online digital FSA tool kit that’s on the FVC website.
Background
Kate is a native of Vermont and served on the board of the Vermont state chapter, hosted on-farm events, and worked on farm and forestry legislation while focusing on the FVC mission and advocating to preserve America’s Working Landscape.
“I grew up in Vermont back when every small town still had several dairy farms and just about everyone had big gardens,” she said. “When I was 15, I started attending a school with a working dairy, livestock, poultry, and maple sugaring operation. Students were required to learn to milk, muck out pig stalls, and achieve basic forestry skills.
“Food at school was fairly different than most American high schools in the ’90s and having opportunities to bake bread, cook, and use ingredients gathered on-site convinced me that agriculture was more than just rewarding labor surrounded by fresh air and animals, but the ability to have fresh foods that got me hooked.”
Military Spouse
Her husband, Mark, served in the Army.
“When my husband returned from active duty and started his sawmill business, we got engaged, and bought our first flock of 25 laying hens,” she said. “The summer I was pregnant with our son I was 8 months along with our first batch of Cornish X broilers.
“Over the next 18 years we expanded our diversified farming business to an on-farm store and selling to local grocery stores and restaurants.”
Her involvement with Farmer Veteran Coalition began a decade ago.
“Back in 2013 I heard about the Farmer Veteran Coalition and was interested in having our farm participate in their Homegrown By Heroes marketing program,” she said. “As luck would have it, a spokesperson for the program was coming to the VA hospital my husband uses, and we joined FVC as members that week.”
Last spring, the family relocated to eastern Tennessee where they are building another farm from scratch. She and Mark, along with their son James, run Meadowdale Farm.
Kate is excited to be putting down roots in Tennessee and is thankful for the local FVC Chapter that has welcomed them.
“We’re thrilled to be in a place with such a strong commitment to supporting our Veteran community,” she said. “I’m excited to be in Tennessee and can’t wait to gather together with FVC members on our farm!”
