 Have you ever tried to find the perfect farm to call home here in Alabama? And how do you build a profitable business once you find one? The educators and research behind Alabama Extension are a great resource. Come discover what we have to offer beginning farmers, like one military veteran and his family in ARAB. When we moved here after we retired from the Army, we decided to start a farm in order to raise our children where they have to be responsible for another life other than themselves. David and Amber Keener left life in Hawaii two years ago in search of green pastures here in Alabama. He found the perfect farm, then turned to Alabama Extension for what to do next. That's usually how a lot of the conversations start with beginning farmers here at the county level is they just come in looking for help, for advice, for people to point them in the right direction. We're a micro dairy farm. We have four Jersey cows and future plans will include four hoop houses where we do tomatoes and cucumbers on a rotational basis as well as a berry farm for blackberries and blueberries. As the Keeners worked to get their farm moving in the right direction, they were introduced to Extension's Operation Grow, a program open to military veterans needing hands-on training, networking and support to become successful beginning farmers. The Operation Grow program has helped over 127 veteran farmers across 49 counties in 2023. We continue to grow. So if you'd like to find out more, just contact your local Alabama Extension office. One of the things that people don't realize about Extension is all of the resources that we have, whether it's publications online, the workshops that we offer, or even just being that what I call the switchboard is here locally to direct people. To learn more about Operation Grow and other Alabama Extension resources, visit aces.edu.