Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain unveiled the Homegrown by Heroes program recently at the Farm to Table International conference in New Orleans.

Homegrown by Heroes is a farmer-veteran initiative that highlights military service while also promoting agriculture. Louisiana is the sixth state to adopt the program and is partnering with the Farmer Vet Coalition.

“There are more than 300,000 veterans who call Louisiana home. The Louisiana Homegrown by Heroes program is an excellent way to provide military veterans an opportunity to engage in agriculture as well as aquaculture production. In addition, there are marketing materials that help enhance their visibility to better market these products,” said Strain. “Whether they are gardening as a hobby or farming as a career, we will do what we can to help our veterans increase their ability to be successful as well as provide them tools for sustainability.”

The program originally was created by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.

“Homegrown by Heroes is a national branding initiative that helps the consumer identify a product as one that is grown in Louisiana and by a military veteran. The goal is to raise the profile of farm products grown and raised by these heroes at the point of sale,” said Ben Shaffar, creator of Homegrown by Heroes program and director of business development of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.