The revitalization of talent is a crucial aspect of rural revitalization.As more retired military personnel return to their hometowns to engage in agricultural activities and contribute to rural development，exploring the impact and its mechanisms of household heads’ military experience on farmers’ investment in agricultural productive asset is of significant practical and theoretical importance.This exploration is vital for stimulating rural talent vitality，empowering agricultural and rural modernization，and developing new productive forces in agriculture.Based on data from the China Family Panel Survey （CFPS） from 2018 to 2020，this study employs a panel fixed-effects model to empirically examine the impact of household heads’ military experience on farmers’ investment in agricultural productive asset and further analyzes the mediating roles of values orientation，risk preferences，and social networks.The findings reveal that household heads’ military experience has a significant positive impact on farmers’ investment in agricultural productive asset.This experience can influence such investments through shaping farmers’ values，enhancing their risk preferences，and expanding their social networks.Additionally，the effect varies across farmers with different management types and between northern and southern regions. Based on these findings，this paper proposes the following strategies and recommendations：promoting the participation of retired military personnel in agricultural skills training to enhance their human capital， guiding retired military personnel to make steady investment in productive assets to improve agricultural productivity，implementing preferential agricultural loan policies for retired military personnel，and optimizing loan procedures and approval mechanisms.