For Melissa Harrop, an Army veteran who was medically discharged after serving for four years, transitioning back to civilian life was not an easy task until she discovered farming, write Candice Wierzbowski and Stephanie Speicher for the Lancaster Farming.
“Farming was something that kind of saved me,” said Harrop. “Agriculture and production farming was kind of my lifeline in a lot of ways.”
Harper and her husband found land to farm in Chester County, which has become somewhat of a rarity.
“Chester County has some of the best soil on the East Coast,” she said. “All of that is being taken over in order to put developments and warehouses and shopping malls.”
After starting, she realized that working in agriculture required many of the same skills she needed in the Army, which made it a natural fit for her.
“The Army, or the military in general, is that same type of discipline,” said Harrop. “It doesn’t matter what’s going on in the world around you, this is your job and it still needs to get done.”
Harrop also works as a markets editor at Lancaster Farming and is active in her local Farm Bureau.
Read more about Melissa Harrop transiting into farming in Lancaster Farming.
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