Vets to Ag - My Six Week Journey





Joe Braunsdorf

Vets to Ag is an innovative program that started in 2009, in conjunction with Michigan State University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, to train homeless Veterans to work in a variety of agricultural areas. As you may know Michigan is a leading grower of fruit in the USA and second only to California in diversity of its agriculture. Training includes basic plant and soil science, equipment and workplace safety, equipment operation, integrated pest management, and training for pesticide applicator. Training can be tailored to suit the specific needs of an employer. This cohort is training in meat processing and packaging. JBS out of Plainwell is partnering and guaranteeing jobs to all the Vets that pass through and graduate the program. JBS is the largest meat processor in the world. Let’s just say if you have ever eaten at that place called McDonalds, then you have eaten meat processed by JBS.


This intense 6 week residential program provides the Vet with classroom instruction in the mornings and hands on activities in the afternoons. The first four weeks will be spent at Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) where the Vets ‘buddy up’ and share living quarters with another Vet and spend much of their time in classroom instruction. They have already been working on math, effective communication, study skills, and machinery. The last two weeks will be spent in the meat labs on campus at MSU – getting the real hands on!

A little about me.......In 1979, I was 17 and had just completed high school.  Being young and dumb and in love with my high school sweetheart, I had to figure things out quickly.  There didn't seem to be much to do in South Bend, Indiana at the time.  There just weren't a lot of options for me.  A friend of mine who was in the Air Force convinced me that this could be something I might enjoy.  I went to the local recruiter, and then the A.F.E.S. (Armed Forces Enlistment Services) station in Chicago, and in no time, was on my way to San Antonio for basic training. I finished basic then continued through my schooling in Electrical Power Production, married my sweetheart, and we were off to Lajes Field the Azores, Portugal.

As things go, young love didn't last.  So I finished my obligation and returned to South Bend, Indiana with an honorable discharge, a nice stereo, and no job!  Not realizing back then I could have received unemployment, I picked up work where I could.  I worked and worked and the rest of the time you could find me in the local bars.  A few years had passed when I met a beautiful young lady and we had a beautiful daughter together.  After some turbulent times, we ended up together in her home town of St. Charles, MI.  I was fortunate enough to get a job working for Terra International which is an Agricultural Firm dealing in field crops.  A few years later, we broke up (is it just me or am I starting to see a trend here?).  Anyway, I became somewhat of a vagabond and bounced around the country for nearly 6yrs.  I finally ended up back in Saginaw, MI. and after playing the 'handyman' role for a few years, I heard about the Vets To Ag Program.

One of the Vets staying at the shelter I was at was involved in the early stages of the program and shared the information with me. Talk about being excited!  I enjoyed working in Agriculture in the past. How many people get the opportunity at 50 to start a new life?  I was a little apprehensive because I had some legal problems during my wandering days and although they were 'paper crimes', they were still felonies.  I discovered this wasn't a reason for concern because I did my time and was welcomed into the Vets to Ag program with open arms.  Proving how badly we wanted to join this program, four of us walked a mile in 5 degree cold with a wind chill of sub 0 degrees.  The group of six of us met at the Michigan Works office in Saginaw, MI. at 6 a.m. on Tuesday 1/22/13.

  

Well, that's enough about me for now. Over the next 6 weeks I will be posting my daily thoughts and progress to keep you up-to-date.  Stay tuned!