Sundial Farm employees Veronica Rojas, left, and Jazmine Carillo prepare food boxes, an option Shen began offering customers after the pandemic upended his business.
Helping veterans become farmers Endeavour Shen is one of thousands of farmers nationwide who have benefited from the services of the Farmer Veteran Coalition, which helps military veterans transition to a career in agriculture. The FVC is a national nonprofit based in Sacramento, dedicated to helping veterans become providers of the nation’s food and fiber. Members have the opportunity through affiliated organizations to learn all aspects of farming, including growing, harvesting and maintaining a budget. FVC says veterans in all 50 states have become successful vegetable farmers, cattle ranchers, beekeepers, flower growers, hydroponic farmers and more through its services, which are available to any veteran or active-duty military member who wants to start a career in agriculture. Many of the veterans currently in the program were severely injured during their service or suffer from PTSD. Homegrown by Heroes, a branding program administered by FVC, certifies farmers and ranchers of all military eras to sell their products as veteran-owned and -operated. Use of the label allows veterans, including Shen, who grows vegetables and orchids, to differentiate their agricultural products in the marketplace.
“It was just like jumping in, gung ho-ing it and try to figure it out,” he said, laughing. Frombad luck to hope The previous owner stayed for six months to teach Shen, and Shen opened for his first day of business on Nov. 1, 2016. The first month was fine, he said, but then everything went wrong. It rained for 20 days when an El Niño weather system hit, blocking the sunlight the orchids needed to bloom. His truck’s engine blew up with 800 orchids inside. Shen, knowing adversity, pressed on. His old accounting firm sold him an SUV that he still uses, and his wife put a cross on a chain around the vehicle’s rearview mirror. That’s when Shen, who’d become a Christian as a young man, said he received a sign on his greenhouse door. “There ’s one day, a Saturday, and I ’m rea l ly frustrated. I mean, I just started a business and opened the door,” he said. “And then, literally, I’m looking at a shadow of the cross. You’re talking about a car that’s 60 feet away from the greenhouse and the shadow was able to project right in the center of the door. It broke me down.” The sign, he said, convinced him to continue.
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