New legislative agendas at the state level aim to chip away at reproductive rights, even in states that recently passed constitutional protections for abortion. On this episode of Us & Them, Host Trey Kay examines how conservative state supreme courts might limit voter-approved amendments — and how abortion-friendly states are pushing back. Meanwhile, President Trump’s new administration could override all state laws through certain executive actions, including one involving a 19th century anti-vice law. Now that the election’s over, what’s next for abortion?
Grandon is 50 years old. His struggles with PTSD went undiagnosed for decades, but he said he started having symptoms back in 1990. His wife noticed, but they didn’t talk about it for years.
Now, four years after he started farming, he said he feels like he’s gotten his life back.
Many of the veterans who have gone into agriculture echo Grandon’s claim that agriculture, and beekeeping specifically, is therapeutic. There aren’t any scientific studies on this, at least none that have been published, but anecdotally, many advocates of veteran farming programs say they’ve seen beekeeping help people like Grandon.
“Every bee has a specific job in the hive,” Grandon explained. “They don’t argue, there’s no second thought to what they have to do to survive. Whereas in our society, it’s nothing but conflict. There’s no cohesiveness. Military, we have cohesiveness. I think it brings me back to what I used to have. And the harmony of working as a team or everyone thinking the same thing to accomplish something. That’s what the bees do, and they do it in such a harmonious way.”
Grandon said even the sound of the bees has become a comfort to him.
“If I have trouble sleeping, which a lot of people with PTSD do, I listen to a recording of the beehive. That sound is enough to put everything out of my mind, so I can sleep,” he said.
Credit Roxy Todd
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Eric Grandon’s six-year-old daughter likes to help her dad with beekeeping. Abigail’s dad, army veteran Eric Grandon, says he’s found therapy through farming and beekeeping.
"They defended and secured our country, and every one of those people have a heart and they know there's kids in those schools that are not getting a decent meal at their house. And every one of them that I talk to…they can't stand the thought of a kid going home hungry."- James McCormick, coordinator for the Veterans to Agriculture Program in W.Va.
An analysis of Veteran Affairs and Census data conducted by West Virginia Public Broadcasting found that nine percent of West Virginians are veterans, higher than the national average. The mountain state has the fifth highest number of veterans per capita in the nation. According to the Department of Health and Human Resources, 40 percent of West Virginians who called the state’s suicide lifeline last year were veterans.
The new West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture, Kent Leonhardt, a veteran himself, is asking the state to invest in West Virginia veterans. He wants lawmakers to budget $250,000 for the Veterans and Warriors to Agriculture program.
This would be the program’s first state budget appropriation, if the legislature approves what Leonhardt is asking.
On the federal level, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) gives veterans higher priority when they apply for financial aid and grants for start-up supplies and labor.
Federal incentives are also available for veterans looking to build their own small businesses.
"West Virginia has a very impressive commitment to helping veterans and service members make that transition."-Lanon Baccam, Deputy Director with the Farmer Veteran Coalition
James McCormick, the Veterans and Warriors to Agriculture coordinator, said the veterans he works with are passionate about selling their produce to local schools.
“They defended and secured our country, and every one of those people have a heart and they know there’s kids in those schools that are not getting a decent meal at their house,” McCormick said. “And every one of them that I talk to … they can’t stand the thought of a kid going home hungry.”
“In farming and ranching, there is an appreciation for the land. You are part of something that is bigger than yourself,” explained Lanon Baccam, deputy director with the Farmer Veteran Coalition, a national nonprofit that assists military veterans looking for careers in agriculture.
Bacaam said West Virginia’s Warriors to Agriculture Program is a perfect example of a growing movement of veterans exploring agriculture for therapy, especially in rural communities across the country.
“If you’re a farmer, you’re raising and growing a lot of food. That’s food that your neighbor, your family and your friends and around the U.S. are going to eat,” she said. “That’s way bigger than yourself. And in the military, these guys get it. They’re part of something bigger than themselves.”
For more information about the Veterans and Warriors to Agriculture Program, contact James McCormick, Veterans and Warriors to Agriculture Coordinator 304-558-3200 jmccormick@wvda.us.
Credit Roxy Todd/ WVPB
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Chickens on Sugar Bottom Farm in Clay County
Music in today’s show was provided by Dinosaur Burps, Ben Townsend, Doctor Turtle, Michael Hitchcock, The Bing Brothers and Wilco, as heard on Mountain Stage. Our “What’s in a Name” theme music is by Marteka and William with “Johnson Ridge Special” from their album Songs of a Tradition.
Patrick Stephens is our Audio Mixer. Suzanne Higgins edited our show this week. Roxy Todd helped produce. Jesse Wright is our executive producer.
New legislative agendas at the state level aim to chip away at reproductive rights, even in states that recently passed constitutional protections for abortion. On this episode of Us & Them, Host Trey Kay examines how conservative state supreme courts might limit voter-approved amendments — and how abortion-friendly states are pushing back. Meanwhile, President Trump’s new administration could override all state laws through certain executive actions, including one involving a 19th century anti-vice law. Now that the election’s over, what’s next for abortion?
On this West Virginia Morning, some cabinet nominees from President Donald Trump are flying a bit under the radar -- and could affect West Virginia's interests. And wildfires may be getting worse -- even in Appalachia.
On this West Virginia Week, the governor and the state's newest senator took their oaths of office. We’ll also hear about an inclusive community, as well as changing access to books in Tennessee’s prisons, and we explore the past and future of a historic building in Shepherdstown.
This week on Inside Appalachia, a West Virginia baker draws on her Finnish heritage to make a different kind of cinnamon roll. Also, for nearly a century, some of Appalachia’s best wood carvers have trained at a North Carolina folk school. Newcomers are still welcomed in to come learn the craft. And, we have a conversation with Kentucky poet Willie Carver Jr.
