Veteran Training Farms in Indiana

Porter Farm is a legacy farm donated by Harold and Esther Porter. Dedicated to a life of service, Harold was an Army Veteran and his wife Esther was a local schoolteacher. In their honor, in 2019 we opened our first Veteran Incubator Farm. It is located at 4680 West US Highway 36 in Danville, IN

Jack's Farm was started in 2023 by Jerry, one of our members, as a nod to his late brother. Both are proud military veterans. It is located at  2238 E 100 N, Anderson, IN, 46012 .

 These farms are committed to training and supporting veterans in farming and business.

These small scale, diversified farms offer the opportunity to establish and grow a farm business utilizing the resources here. The structure is in place for market garden vegetable farming, small scale U-pick fruits, small animal production, honey-bee Apiary, and more.

Housing is available at each farm at a reduced rent of $750/month plus utilities. Each house is around 1100 sq ft (2 bedroom, 1 bath).

The mission of the farm is to offer many of the resources and training needed to start in farming. It is a chance to put your ideas and business plans in action, while operating with the farm's physical and educational resources. 

The incubator program offers a 2-3 year opportunity to live on the farm, while starting or growing a farm business. While we do provide farm and educational resources, this opportunity is designed for a self-directed veteran who has a vision and business plan in place. If you are still at the idea stage, please reach out and we will connect you to local resources that may be able to help you in your journey.  

This small farm offers a complete package to support almost any farm business. Here are just some of the tools available for use:

• 30 x96  hoophouse (unheated)
• 2 acres of fully fenced pasture with a 12x20 run-in barn (Porter only)
• 1/2 acre available for vegetable production 
• BCS 2-wheel tractor for garden
• Established berry bushes, trees, pollinator garden, etc
• x3 beehives (1 horizontal, x2 langstroth)
• 12x12 Alumi- meat chicken mobile coop (grows out 75+ chickens)
• Stationary chicken coop with fenced run

Porter Farm is run in cooperation with both the non profit- Veterans IN Farming and the Hendricks County Soil and Water Conservation Department (SWCD). Funding has been provided with grants from the Indiana Natural Resource Conservation Services (NRCS) along with our local Hendrick County in addition to our educational partners.

Jack's Farm runs in cooperation with the At Ease Orchard non-profit. It also has educational support coming from Purdue Extension, Indiana Grown, Small Business Administration (SBA) Veteran Business Development, and the national Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC).

This is a competitive program- Applications for 2026 open October 1, 2025.  Have questions about the farm or need additional information? Contact us today and we'll be happy to help. You can reach us by phone, email, or by filling out the form on our website. We look forward to hearing from you!