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Homegrown by Heroes — A Free Label for a Veteran-Owned Farm, Renewed Every Three Years

A veteran who farms, ranches, fishes or makes a value-added food product can put a state-recognised veteran logo on the packaging, the signage, the website and the market stall. The department charges nothing for it and the certification runs three years. The gates are a discharge of honorable or general under honorable conditions, at least 50% veteran ownership AND management control of the agribusiness, and — for a value-added product — at least 50% of the non-water ingredients from certified producers.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

A veteran who farms, ranches, fishes or makes a value-added food product can put a state-recognised veteran logo on the packaging, the signage, the website and the market stall. The department charges nothing for it and the certification runs three years. The gates are a discharge of honorable or general under honorable conditions, at least 50% veteran ownership AND management control of the agribusiness, and — for a value-added product — at least 50% of the non-water ingredients from certified producers.

What it's worth: Free certification, renewed every three years, to use the veteran logo on packaging, signage, websites and social media

  • The department states the programme is free for eligible veterans, with a three-year renewal cycle.
  • Veterans of any branch of the armed forces are eligible, including those currently serving.
  • A discharge characterisation of honorable, or general under honorable conditions, is required.
  • An agribusiness must be at least 50% veteran owned, with management control held by the veteran.
  • A value-added product must contain at least 50% non-water ingredients sourced from certified producers.
  • The logo may be used on packaging, signage, websites and social media, or wherever the items are sold.
  • The department accepts the certificate or certification letter from the national farmer veteran organisation as verification of veteran status for the label.
  • The department describes partner organisations that provide mentorship matching, land access assistance, farmers market connections and value-added product development training.

Who is entitled to it

  • Your discharge characterisation is within the range the label accepts.
  • Your home is in this state.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

  1. 1Check the ownership test before anything else. Fifty percent veteran ownership is only half of it — the department also requires management control, so a passive veteran shareholding will not carry the label.
  2. 2Get the national certification first if you are asked to. The department accepts the certificate or certification letter from the national farmer veteran organisation as verification of veteran status.
  3. 3If you make a value-added product — jam, cheese, sauce, cider — count your ingredients. At least 50% of the non-water ingredients must come from certified producers.
  4. 4Diary the three-year renewal on the day you are certified. The certification is free, so the only thing that costs you is letting it lapse quietly and having to explain a logo you are no longer entitled to use.
  5. 5Put the logo where a buyer sees it before the price: packaging, market signage, the website header. It is a marketing asset and it is worth nothing sitting in a folder.
  6. 6Ask the department about the partner organisations while you are applying. Mentorship matching, land access and farmers market connections are described alongside the label, and they are the part with real money in it.
Form
Homegrown by Heroes certification through the state department of agriculture
File with
The state department of agriculture
Documents you will need
dd214
Periodic
Re-confirmed from time to time.
Worth knowingThis is a label, not a grant. It costs nothing and it does not pay anything — its value is that a shopper standing in front of two identical jars can see which one a veteran made.
Known gapThe department page read this session does not set out the application steps or the form. Ring the department before you assemble paperwork, and ask whether the national certification is required first or merely accepted.

Sources

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.