Meet Andi Cooley. Horticulturist, farmer, veteran, teacher, mother, soldier – you’ll see her wearing numerous hats – from camo to straw and everything in between.  Having devoted 23 years of service to our country’s military, Andi and her family wanted to find a way to get back to the land, so they began turning their property into a sustainable paradise, creating a 1000+ square foot garden and orchard, growing everything from greens to berries, tomatoes to peas.

Andi studied Horticulture at NCTC to learn how to grow her own vegetables and fruits and then took classes in agriculture and farm and ranch management to explore animal husbandry.  “These classes taught me everything from soil conservation to pasture management, and how consumers make decisions.  I love to see how the various subjects overlap.  After all, you can’t grow cows without knowing plants” said Andi.  “The classes are giving me the background that I need to successfully manage my farm and have opened my eyes to new, exciting ideas.”  In addition to taking classes at NCTC, Andi and her husband, Rob, were chosen to participate in the Armed to Farm program, a special sustainable agriculture training for military veterans.  Although Andi is still an active reservist in the Army, deploying, in fact, in January 2018, she continues to take NCTC classes.

This past year, Andi and her family applied her training and now sell their garden produce as well as fresh, free-range eggs at a local farmer’s market which they helped establish in their small community.  “People seek out our watermelon and go crazy for our purple hull peas!  It makes me happy to see how people get excited about produce that is grown locally, in their own neighborhood,” Andi says with a smile.

After her deployment, Andi hopes to expand her produce business.  “I am excited for the next step in my career as a farmer.  My mom has older friends who want to pay me to deliver my veggies to them, which I hope to accomplish in the near future,” remarked Andi.  “I love to serve my country, and now I want to serve my local community in a unique way – growing produce from my garden, using rainwater that I’ve collected and compost that my chickens help make.  And more importantly, I believe that we all need each other in our community, to take care of each other and learn from each other.  Education is so important and makes me happy.  I always tell people, ‘Just take a class that interests you.’”