By: Andrea Lannom, Register-Herald Reporter | Posted: Mar. 19, 2018 | Source: The Register-Herald
CHARLESTON — After spending 20 years in the Army, Eric Grandon didn’t picture himself getting into agriculture. He never even had a family garden.
However, now, he credits agriculture with saving his life.
“I went from that person who was wondering what to do for the rest of my life, wondering if I would take my own life, to look at me now,” Grandon says. “I’m southern West Virginia’s full-service bee company now.”
In 2011, Grandon had a flashback of his time in Desert Storm. Diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, Grandon was no longer able to work again as a physical therapy assistant.
Grandon spent about two years wondering what he would do for work. He says he was at the point of committing suicide when he found the Veterans and Warriors to Agriculture program.
The VA reports an average of 20 veterans died by suicide each day in 2014. In West Virginia, the total number of veteran suicides in 2014 was 69. West Virginia was not significantly different from the national veteran suicide rate after accounting for differences in age, the VA reports.
“It gave me my life back. It saved my life,” Grandon says, mentioning suicide statistics among veterans. “I was at that point because I had lost everything.”
Grandon was among the first participants in the Veterans and Warriors to Agriculture program under the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.
The program has centered on beekeeping, but it has other initiatives as well. The department is conducting classes at some VA locations, adding some maple classes. The department also is continuing work on extended course work with the hope of establishing six- and 12-week programs.
Commissioner of Agriculture Kent Leonhardt says he wants the department to have more of an active role in a lavender project in Boone County.
The Green Mining Model Business Program oversaw the program, which aimed to turn a reclaimed area of the former Pritchard Mine site in Hernshaw into fields of lavender.
Leonhardt says the project is in transition.
“They are changing the way they are running the program, applying for new grants,” he says. “It was not a Department of Agriculture program when it started but we want to be more involved with it in the future.”
So far, Leonhardt estimates 300 veterans have signed up for the Veterans and Warriors to Agriculture program since its beginning in 2014. Program director James McCormick says there are 153 actively in the agriculture business now.
“The fact we did this without a state budget and with a whole lot of obstacles is a miracle,” McCormick said. “This just adds credit to the operational plan we have established. A good plan properly executed with even limited resources can still achieve victory.”
McCormick said the department has an agreement with the Veterans Assistance Office, where veterans can apply for education assistance grants for some equipment. The department also has relationships with nonprofits to donate equipment for the training program.
The program was created in 2014 but hadn’t received any funding under the budget until this year. McCormick says money received since 2014 was under $14,000 from private donations and grants. The program operated on a zero state budget with a staff of two and was under a $7,500 yearly cap on spending.
“We had two individuals do it,” Leonhardt says. “They put in a lot of extra hours. They did all they could without funding.”
The Legislature passed the budget bill March 10, the morning of the last day of the 60-day regular session. Gov. Jim Justice signed the budget bill Thursday.
Under that budget, the Legislature allocated $250,000 to the program for the 2019 fiscal year. Leonhardt hopes to be able to attract grants for the program with more money to dedicate for matching funds.
“Everyone wants the state to have skin in the game,” Leonhardt says. “Now, West Virginia can legitimately say to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and any program or private foundations that West Virginia has skin in the game. We are putting our money where our mouth is. We’re hoping they will match the funding so that we can really improve the program and get the money rolling.
“What we want to do with the funding we have now is have a training program to give veterans, as they come out of the military, a taste of what agriculture can do for them and see if it’s a right fit,” Leonhardt says. “Are they wanting to start their own farm? Pursue higher education in research or food safety? The idea is to start training veterans to see what agriculture is all about. Agriculture is a business. Agriculture can be a great way of life.”
Leonhardt says he has seen the benefits of the program, noting at least eight soldiers, including Grandon, who told him they owe their life to the program.
“They are no longer planning suicide because of PTSD because it keeps them active,” Leonhardt says.
Grandon says the program gave him purpose.
“That first year was huge to me because it gave me purpose,” he says. “It gave me back my identity because I was this and I was that and then all of a sudden, I was nothing.”
When he first started, Grandon had no farming experience.
“I tilled up a meadow at the farm and it took me three weeks to do it because I only had a hand-tiller,” Grandon said. “I planted seeds when I had never planted anything in my life. I had never done a family garden or anything.”
Since that time, Grandon has come a long way. He started a small commercial farm, called Sugar Bottom Farm, in Clay County. At his farm, he keeps bees and also grows crops for the Farm to School program under the USDA.
“We grow everything on the salad bar,” he said.
Grandon says the Veterans and Warriors to Agriculture program helped him transition from a military mindset to civilian life.
“It’s something we can do by ourselves,” Grandon says. “That’s the great thing about the program. With traditional work, we have problems with it because we don’t like to be around crowds. We don’t like to be confined in a cubicle after serving in Iraq three to four times. … Agriculture gives you an opportunity to give back and, at the same time, provide a life for your family.”
Grandon admitted at first, he didn’t want to keep bees. However, now, he sees a therapeutic effect from it.
“I didn’t want to do it because I have anxiety issues. Bees sense anxiety,” Grandon says. “But for me, it took away that anxiety. It put me in a place where when I work with the bees, if I have something on my mind and start working with the bees, I forget everything. There’s no outside noise whatsoever. All I hear is a gentle buzz. I don’t think of anything else but the colony — watching the queen lay eggs, baby bees being born — it’s an amazing thing.”
Grandon celebrated his anniversary in beekeeping. It’s not been an easy year, however. In October, his farm burned and he lost his bee colonies.
“I lost my entire business,” he says. “I lost about $130,000 worth of product. We are in the process of rebuilding now.”
Now, he’s cultivating 35 honey hives. He sells nucleus colonies to kickstart other beekeepers. He renders the wax to sell in bulk or by the pound. He also sells honey, even though he admitted he doesn’t like the smell of honey after working in it all day.
“The great thing is at the end of February, we surpassed our whole annual earnings for last year,” Grandon said. “It’s 10 times bigger than it was.”
Perseverance was key.
“We don’t quit,” Grandon says. “That’s one thing. We don’t quit. We don’t give up just because someone made it difficult. We continue with what we’re going to do. That’s a difference between military and civilians. They walk away and find something else. We don’t walk away.”
Leonhardt says he hopes to develop the training program for veterans. He wants to see the program work with small colleges in the state.
“We could help that we could get veterans interested in agriculture and decide whether to start a farm or further their education with a two-year degree, or go into a university and become an agriculture teacher or food safety expert — maybe even become an agriculture attorney,” Leonhardt says.
McCormick said the department is in the process of taking the program to a national level, providing initial training through the specialized training program. McCormick said he could also see lessons applied to veterans applied to other demographics.
“Whatever we teach veterans can also be applied to any other demographic or group of people,” McCormick said. “We clearly see this can be something that could also be applied to recovery programs of all types to include added curriculum to assist those in drug recovery. It’s limitless in what we can do.”
Leonhardt also met with officials from the USDA recently to discuss the future of the program.
“The meeting with the USDA went extremely well,” Leonhardt says. “It was clear after our discussion, they are committed to supporting our veterans, as well as spurring economic growth through agriculture in rural communities. We look forward to ongoing discussions to expand the WVDA Veterans and Warriors to Agriculture program and hope to have USDA officials to visit West Virginia sometime in the near future. West Virginia has the potential to become a national hub for training veterans from all over America in agricultural careers. We are proud of the tremendous progress we have made since my administration took office, last year.”
Leonhardt says he wants to see West Virginia leading in this aspect. He said Wisconsin legislators have approached his office in the past to help write legislation that they just passed.
“I want to tell the story of West Virginia,” he says. “I want West Virginia to be leading in veterans to agriculture.”
Email: alannom@register-herald.com; follow on Twitter @AndreaLannom
