Auctions Fund Program To Train Vets In Farming

WADDINGTON - Three upcoming auctions, according to the president of a local not-for-profit organization, will serve as fundraisers for a hands-on training program for returning veterans who have an interest in becoming farmers.

Clements Agricultural Research Institute (CARI), a 501 (c)(3), with support from The Rodale Institute, a Kutztown, Pa.-based non-profit and the Farmer-Veteran Coalition, of Davis, Calif., have been developing the Returning Veteran Farming Project, according to CARI President Mahlon T. Clements, since March.

"We intend to offer information and training to assist returning veterans in transitioning into a career in organic and sustainable farming," Mr. Clements said. "The venue of this program will be Iroquois Farm," a certified organic farm located on state Highway 37, he added, six miles west of Waddington and 10 miles east of Ogdensburg.

As part of the fundraising campaign for the veterans project, according to Mr. Clements, Brzostek Auction Service, Phoenix, N.Y., will conduct consignment auctions on July 23 at Iroquois Farm and July 24 at the former Cattleman's Restaurant in Morristown.

"The public is encouraged to bring vehicles, boats, tractors, farm machinery, and any other large working equipment to be sold at the auctions," Mr. Clements said, adding that items may be donated or sold with the owner receiving the proceeds, but CARI will receive the 10 percent buyer's premium courtesy of the auctioneer.

There will also be an auction in Chaumont on July 25 to sell the historic 1877 Knapp house, 11932 Route 12E, donated to CARI for the project by Georgia B. and Robert O. Cox, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., formerly of Watertown. For more detailed information about the Chaumont auction, call 323-1905.

While the Cox gift was the first major donation, Mr. Clements said, others wishing to support returning veterans are encouraged to do the same. Contributors will receive a complimentary year's membership to the institute and a tax-deductible receipt, he said.

With Fort Drum, home of the 10th Mountain Division, just over an hour away and no similar project or training facility in the northeastern U.S., Mr. Clements said, the need for such a project is high.

"It appears that the Iroquois Farm venue would be well suited to serve returning veterans, as well as others who have a similar interest in learning about farming," he said. "It is expected that several thousand veterans will be returning through Fort Drum starting later this year, and there are very few educational programs available for them to learn about organic and sustainable farming."

Iroquois Farm presently operates a garden, field crops, conducts research and provides information programs on organics. It has been in operation for the past 12 years.

For the veterans program, Mr. Clements said "the farm will be diversified to add poultry, beef, sheep and eventually dairy farming, to provide a broad range of experiences for the trainees." This, he said, will require more management and more employees, additional equipment, and likely the use of additional farmland to support the expanded program.

"CARI will assist in finding a farming job or a farm, for those competing the program," he said.