Since it began in 2008, the group has given out $300,000, mostly in small grants of $5,000. It's also inspired a new documentary feature from filmmaker Dulanie Ellis, called Ground Operations: Battlefields to Farmfields. O'Gorman says he's now getting inquiries about the program from about 100 new vets each month. "I've been overwhelmed by the activity," he says. "I've found a way to pass my love of farming on to other people, and there's no more worthy group of young men and women to assist."

One program graduate, Army reservist and Iraq vet Matt McCue, 31, now raises organic vegetables in Northern California. "Farming is a very tough road," he says. "But just like in the military, what you do with it does matter to yourself and the people around you."

To learn more, go to farmvetco.org.