We are celebrating Veterans Day! Veterans Day is actually November 11 and we want to honor all that have served in our great nation. I had the opportunity to meet two extraordinary people who happen to be veterans and… farmers! Not only did they serve our country overseas, but they also serve every day in their local community and in the agriculture industry in general by using a regenerative-agriculture approach to their farm.
Meet married couple and US Army veterans, Brittney and Kris of K & B Liberty Farms! Their story is not like any other I’ve ever been able to tell.
Brittney and Kris briefly met before their deployment to Afghanistan. Both being pilots gave them something in common.
A Veteran Match Made in Heaven
But it wasn’t until their time overseas that they became close friends. Towards the end of Brittney’s deployment, she received a wedding invitation and asked Kris to be her plus one. I guess you could say after that, the rest is history.
After Afghanistan, Brittney was then deployed to Germany. Her family’s history runs deep in the military, specifically in Germany. Her grandfather fought in World War II and was actually captured by the Germans in Frankfurt.
Ironically, Brittney was staying nearby Frankfurt. For Brittney, this experience was very close to home.
Kris started in the Marines and eventually made his way to the US Army. He didn’t grow up in agriculture, but it was never too far removed in his childhood in Iowa. One of his first jobs was detasseling corn, he attended rodeos, and loved country music.
From Veterans to Farmers
Brittney did not grow up on a farm either. Her father owned 10 acres. She was engaged in agriculture and sometimes helped, but would not consider herself a farm kid.
After their time in the military and constantly traveling, they were ready for stability. When you think of careers that include the whole family and staying put in one area, agriculture definitely comes to mind. So their agriculture journey began with 30 acres.
Since then, their farm is expanding. They still reside on the original land they purchased but have bought more from their neighbors for a total of around 67 acres.
After purchasing their land, they got right to work starting with soil samples. Originally, they wanted to start in the haying business. They quickly realized their land was nutrient-deprived. This made it extremely difficult to produce the high-quality horse hay they were striving to grow.
Regenerative Agriculture
That’s when they decided regenerative agriculture was the way they wanted to go.
But what is regenerative agriculture?
Regenerative agriculture can be defined as any form of agricultural practice that actively restores soil quality, biodiversity, ecosystems health, water quality while producing sufficient food of high nutritional quality.
Everything on their farm is how nature intended from livestock to produce. And it’s plain to see, they love it!
Their livestock is pasture-raised with rotational grazing patterns on our different paddocks. The cows are grass-fed and during the winter months, they are provided organic hay and minerals. After the cows rotate to different paddocks of land, the chicken will follow and graze.
Chickens are great for helping to fertilize the soil. Chickens help spread the cow manure over a larger area. They eat the fly larva which helps reduce the fly population in the pastures. Chickens eat bugs and grass but they also provide them with organic chicken feed.
The Veteran Coalition
But when they aren’t farming, they are working on their potential non-profit, K & B Liberty Veteran Coalition. In the beginning, they simply wanted to give back to the veteran community and their local community.
They started by donating their farm-fresh eggs and frozen chicken to food banks. After more research, they wanted to do the same for veteran homeless shelters. Luckily, they came across Liberty Place, a homeless shelter housing 16 veterans. A short 20-minute drive up the road, K & B Farms is now the sole provider of eggs and chicken for Liberty Place, donating weekly.
But they don’t want their mission to stop there.
Being huge advocates of mental health and suicide awareness for veterans, they have one goal in mind: to serve their minds healthy food too! So why not use their home-grown food to improve struggling veterans’ way of life?
The end goal for their coalition is to create farming plots around metropolitan areas providing access to healthy food. Similar to nonprofit community gardens, they want to one day expand to 10 acres and include an agriculture education system.
I am completely inspired by Brittney and Kris’s story. Their impact on their local, veteran and agriculture community is outstanding. Visit the K & B Liberty Farms website to learn more about how you can give back to their coalition.
Everybody Eats
Find More Stories at Everybody Eats
We all eat, and that is why farming will always matter. Everybody Eats is where the stories of food and farming intersect.
These stories told through my FarmHer lens connect us to our food and more importantly, the people behind it.
Everybody Eats is a collection of stories of those who protect our rural communities, who grow our food with extraordinary care, and who provide support, education, and assistance to make sure Everybody Eats.
This is a wonderful story told from your “FarmHer Lens” about an inspiring and unique farm story. Thanks for finding this one! “Farmers” can come from just about every kind of background!
i think this story told me how much we need to appreciate are veterans and the nave and etc.
i like the article be cause it tells everything about how they havest and what they havest and it tells a little about her life
I love this one because they were not born into farming they became farmers so we got to see the journey of them become farmers.Another reason liked it was how it talked about WW2 because my great grandpa was in WW2.
The reason I liked it was it was supporting the people who protect us and help us. I learned that I have to support the veterans because they help me. It is useful information because they always have protected us and always will.
The reason I liked it was it was supporting the people who protect us and help us. I learned that I have to support the veterans because they help me. It is useful information because they always have protected us and always will.
I really like how they are celibrating Veterans Day through farming. I liked I how it talked about World War 2 because it was a real event were a lot of loved ones were lost. I’m glad that it is reconizing the veterans.
I like this story because it talks about how they went from veterans to farmers. I learned that people can be different things and not just stick to one thing. It is useful information because it tells you how they changed from veterans to farmers
This is cool because it talks about farmers and veterans. I learned that farmers can be veterans. This can be useful by joining the army as they did.
Hello I’m Gavin from Mrs. Areys 3e class, I really am surprised and mind blown by how you are a veteran then go into farming i love this article because it talks about all the good things.
I like this because he was a verteran helping the country then started farming!!
I liked this story because it was inspiring because i want to be a farmer when i grow up but i live in the city. and i also liked this story because i talks about how you don’t need to just have one job .
I love how you express how things are close to you and what you like. It was also kind of cool to learn about what Veterans do after they retire. It would also help me push through and do things for my community.
I like this article because it made me realize how important farming is and how much appreciation these vetrans deserve!
I liked this article because they are really are a perfect match and are so happy side by side. Something that I learned was that there are actually quite a few homeless veterans which breaks my heart </3. This information is useful for me because now maybe I can start to give back to homeless veterans!
I like this article because it reminds everyone how it is important to remember the veterans that served us. An important thing is that you can switch your live up and start doing other things/jobs. Something useful is that is can show people that just because your good at something does not mean you cant be good at another. (Try new things.)
I like this article because I found what they were doing for veterans really inspiring! One thing that I learned was that chickens are good for soil. This article is useful because it might inspire others to start helping veterans by donating to them, which could really help a lot of people!
I like this story because it shows how these people went from vets to farmers and how you can change from one thing to another.
The reason I liked this article was because it reminds me of my grandpa who served in the Military. It was a message to me to support everyone who serves in the Military because they risk their lives to protect ours.
This story told me that it is important to support our veterans and all that they do for us.
I liked this story because it talks about World War II and how they went from veterans to farmers. I learned that you don’t have to have stick with one job. This information is useful because it showing that you can do whatever you want and don’t only have to do one thing.
Dear Brittany and Kris,
I love that you made the transfer from being veterans to farmers. I believe that both jobs are important. Thanks!
– Makaiya 1E