Cultivating Post-Traumatic Growth and Community Reintegration: A Veteran-to-Farmer Program Evaluation

Abstract

Background: Military veterans represent 6% of the total United States (US) population and experience a disproportionate prevalence of post-traumatic stress (PTS), unemployment, poverty, and homelessness. Veterans are uniquely suited for agriculture owing to their highly structured, disciplined, and focused training in the military. In 2007, the veteran-to-farmer movement gained momentum in response to the increasing number of post-9/11 veterans leaving the military and reintegrating into civilian life.Purpose: The aim of this project was to investigate post-traumatic growth and community reintegration in veterans participating in a rural Maine veteran-to-farmer program, Boots-2-Bushels (B2B), through utilization-focused program evaluation. Methods: Patton’s Utilization-Focused Program Evaluation (U-FE) framework was employed to examine B2B, a rural Maine veteran-to-farmer program. Participant satisfaction, skill utilization, veteran engagement, and the impact of agriculture on mental health were evaluated through a 15-item questionnaire. All 72 participants since B2B’s inception in 2020 were invited to participate and 22 responded (n=22). SurveyMonkey was utilized for data collection over fourteen days. Results: Data from this program evaluation suggest that exposure to trauma is widespread in the general public and veterans. Veteran-to-farmer programs ameliorate challenges with community reintegration and post-traumatic stress symptoms such as unwanted memories, avoidance, anhedonia, anger, and isolation. All respondents reported that working with nature improves their mental health. Conclusions: The results from this program evaluation suggest that the B2B veteran-to-farmer program is an effective adjunct or integrative therapy option for rural veterans on the symptomatic spectrum of post-traumatic stress and struggling with community reintegration after leaving the military.