Acadiana Veterans See Green in Growing 海角社区E Ag Programs
November 09, 2022
Connecting Veterans With Opportunities in Agriculture
Through the largest grant in recent 海角社区 Eunice history, from the Delta Regional Authority, the college will begin welcoming students into a free Introduction to Agriculture class this spring. The course will be combined with skills-based training in one of four areas鈥攂eginner cattleman, master farmer, crop analyst or FAA drone certification, along with a business management certification.
Military veterans in the region were actively involved in helping 海角社区E get the grant and build the new tech-driven agribusiness certificate programs, part of Sustaining Future Farms in Louisiana at 海角社区E. One of them is David Billings, a U.S. Army veteran and co-founder of Coastal Plains Meat Company in Eunice, which is Louisiana鈥檚 leading beef harvester.
鈥淲e support 海角社区E and have partnered with them to build an internship program at Coastal Plains Meat Company for students,鈥� Billings said, who received his own master cattleman certification through the 海角社区 AgCenter. 鈥淣ot only are we trying to keep Louisiana beef in Louisiana; we鈥檙e looking to hire graduates coming out of 海角社区E.鈥�
Being able to access skills-based certificate programs right in Eunice, as well as a new Associate of Science in Agriculture degree at 海角社区E, could be of great help to veterans transitioning into a career outside of the military, Billings said. Current 海角社区E student and Army veteran Adam Guillory from Mamou, Louisiana, agrees. He will take the Introduction to Agriculture class this spring and pursue FAA drone certification.
鈥淎fter being in war and undergoing stress, getting my hands into the soil keeps me grounded,鈥� Guillory said. 鈥淚鈥檓 interested in drone technology because I think it can solve a lot of problems in agriculture. Using technology, we can protect the land and grow healthy food.鈥�
David Billings, Army veteran, co-owner of Coastal Plains Meat Company and graduate of the 海角社区 AgCenter鈥檚 master cattleman program, has partnered with 海角社区E to support agribusiness education for veterans and 鈥渒eep Louisiana beef in Louisiana.鈥� He鈥檚 the fourth generation of Billings to join the military; his son Peyton is the fifth.
鈥� Photo courtesy of David Billings
鈥淐onnecting veterans with opportunities in agriculture supports the state. Of course, we realized education was a vital component of the process, which is why partnering with and supporting 海角社区E in this effort made perfect sense, especially when veterans and guardsmen have access to the GI bill and tuition exemption.鈥�
Andrew Ward, president and founder of the Acadiana Veteran Alliance and head of sales and marketing at Coastal Plains Meat Company