Last month, the Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) hosted its 11th annual Farmer Veteran Coalition Stakeholders Conference in Waco, Texas, during October 26-28, 2025 at the Waco Convention Center.
The theme for this year’s conference was “Emerging Trends in Food, Agriculture, and Health.” This was a fitting theme as the agriculture landscape is always changing and FVC as an organization always needs to adapt for its membership.
The first day of the conference featured farm tours with three stops: Meadows Beef, Mustard Seed Farm, and Scissortail Farms. Each stop featured a veteran-owned farming operation, with the owners explaining their daily operations and how they got started as farmers and ranchers.
Following the farm tours, the welcome reception took place, with a private screening of the short film “Camp AMP”. “Camp AMP” is the story of Eric Czaja and his family’s quest to bring regenerative grazing to U.S. Department of Defense bases around the country. You can view the entire film HERE.
Day 2 featured numerous guest speakers and breakout sessions. FVC CEO, Jeanette Lombardo, started the opening ceremony. Afterwards, she welcomed to the stage keynote speaker, Rob Jones. Rob Jones, U.S. Marine Corps veteran, spoke about his journey after retiring from the military. During his powerful presentation on Extreme Ownership, Rob shared actionable leadership strategies that the attendees can use to overcome the challenges they face in business and life.
Learn more about Rob Jones and Echelon Front by visiting his website HERE.
Next came the highly anticipated Successful Farmer Panel, featuring Gene Miller with Miller’s Bee Kind Farm, Michael Denham with Fulton Family Farm, and Heidi Barber with Hay Ewe Ranch LLC. Moderated by FVC board member, John Sachse with the American Farm Bureau, the panel allowed the speakers to discuss the successes and challenges they have faced as beginning farmers and ranchers and how FVC has been a part of their journey.
Day 2 concluded with multiple breakout sessions, featuring topics such as beekeeping, mushroom farming, financial education, and much more.
The final day of the conference began with the opening plenary session, featuring Rusty Rumley, Senior Staff Attorney with The National Agricultural Law Center, who is a key partner with the USDA National Agricultural Library. Rusty’s session covered current and relevant topics of importance to small and mid-size farmers.
Afterwards, FVC announced FVC Cares, a new program dedicated to starting and maintaining safe and evidence-based care farms. During the session, Jeanette explained how MarketMaker will be used to easily find and categorize the different types of care farms FVC members are running.
The session also featured Lynn Miller with WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) and U.S. Army veteran and former FVC of South Carolina President Matt Rutter.
More breakout sessions followed, going over important topics such as farmers market strategies, legal aspects of farming, regenerative farming, and certifications.
Awards were handed out to the following recipients:
- FVC Founders Award (Chosen by FVC Founder, Michael O’Gorman): Larry Jacobs and his wife Sandra Belin
- FVC Influencer of the Year: Kris Vandenberg
- Iron Tractor Award: Cynthia Meraz
- Cultivator Award: Kiersten Downs
- Farmstead Fellowship Award: Lou Driever Jr.
- Boots-on-the-Ground Award: James Burch
- Legacy Leadership Award: Matthew Rutter
FVC State Chapters were also recognized:
- Membership Champion Award: FVC of Texas
- State Chapter Membership Achievement Award 1st Place: FVC of Connecticut
- State Chapter Membership Achievement Award 2nd Place: FVC of Idaho
- State Chapter Membership Achievement Award 3rd Place: FVC of Texas and FVC of Virginia
The conference concluded with the State Chapter Session and finally the closing ceremony. The Farmer Veteran Coalition thanks everyone who attended this year’s conference and hopes that everyone left with some knowledge or insight that they can apply to their own farming operations.
We look forward seeing everyone again at next year’s conference, with the venue set to be announced in 2026.
