Lessons learned from an agriculture veterans program: When the experience doesn’t yield anticipated results

Abstract Information: Veterans can sometimes struggle to find job opportunities and acquire career readiness skills after their service in the US military ends. The agriculture veterans program aimed to support new and beginning veteran farmers by offering experiential learning and multiple forms of assistance in farm production, business, and entrepreneurial skills for successful job placement. The purpose of the study was twofold: (1) to document the program's impacts on equipping veterans for pathways to employment in the agribusiness sectors and (2) to share recommendations on how to optimize workforce programming effectiveness, specifically focusing on aligning the program’s objectives with its outcomes. Seven participants were interviewed and shared their stories with the program as they navigated life after active duty. The evaluation findings showed that the program cultivated a sense of purpose, created a peer support network for workforce readiness, and increased veterans' self-esteem and self-worth. The experiences gathered from the evaluation data revealed that no veterans had been placed in any agriculture-related fields during the life of the project, which was the primary objective of this program. While the program tried to offer things like tailored support aligned with the unique needs and career goals of each individual veteran, such as personalized mentorship, specialized training, and targeted networking opportunities, the program failed to meet the needs of the veterans and the objectives of the project. The external evaluator(s) shared results each year of the project, but no programmatic changes were initiated. Sharing the story of evaluation data that could be utilized differently may help new evaluators or seasoned practitioners understand special populations like veterans for future development of programs for veterans and other underserved communities.

Relevance Statement: Evaluation plays a critical role in ensuring that programs are meeting their intended objectives and making a positive impact on the individuals and communities they serve. Using a qualitative approach (interviews) in this work helped get insights into how one agriculture veterans' program has impacted veterans' career readiness skills and, ultimately, to what extent they have been successfully placed in jobs. Documenting veterans' farmers' experiences regarding programming impact served as a starting point to measure how the program's objectives were achieved. Additionally, the recommendations shared by participants will help evaluators better understand how to optimize workforce programming effectiveness, with a specific focus on aligning program objectives with outcomes. The evaluation findings will contribute to offering real stories of how evaluation needs to be aligned with programs' questions and objectives to maximize its impact and intended outcomes. Sharing the story of evaluation data that could be utilized differently may help new evaluators or seasoned practitioners understand special populations like veterans for the future development of programs for veterans and other underserved communities. Ultimately, this will improve the efficient use of programming funds and sustain progress.