Marble Valley Farm is looking for an intern!
ABOUTSmall-scale, highly diversified organic (not-yet-certified) vegetable farm on land trust property; also some herbs, and pumpkins. 2007 was our first cash-cropping year. Four acres in production at this point. We have a wonderfully receptive community, to whom we market our veg via a small CSA (53 shares in 2011) and also a weekend farmstand open to the public. In addition to our produce, we market grass-raised beef and pork and other products, incl. honey and low-spray apples and pears, from local farming friends. We donate to the Kent Food Bank weekly as well. Owner/operator Megan Haney has training from UCSC's organic farm school and 18 years' experience since. We also sell to some restaurants, and the local hospital. We use a Massey Ferguson for primary tillage and an Allis Chalmers G for weed control; much work is done with hand tools. We farm on bottomland of the Housatonic River, just across from the Appalachian Trail (great swimming/kayaking/hiking opps.).
QUALIFICATIONSLooking for someone who might want to farm on their own someday, with following attributes:
- Some experience gardening/farming preferred, or lacking that, track record of some kind of demanding physical labor;
- Willingness, even desire, to work physically hard under occasionally challenging conditions (heat, humidity, dirt, bugs, cold, wet);
- Reliability (ie showing up, on time, fully ready to work);
- Pro-active communication skills regarding important issues like requested schedule changes;
- Ability to work unsupervised at times, which entails ability to retain instruction sets, ability to seek us out and raise questions when the realities of the field and the advance instructions don’t jibe, and tendency to keep up efficient pace even when working alone;
- Good powers of observation;
- Good basic math skills;
- Love of food and produce helpful.
RESPONSIBILITIESPropagation of seeds in greenhouse, soil preparation, transplanting, direct-seeding, cultivation/weeding, harvesting, marketing (CSA/farmstand/other), cover-cropping, field planning skills all taught with “big picture” v. “do this now” approach (though some of the latter has to prevail at times!).
Interns will learn how to drive and use our tractors and various attachments (basket weeder, rototiller, Lister plow, bush hog, etc.) Other motorized tools: weed whacker, chain saw, metal grinder (for sharpening tools), power drill, impact driver, reciprocating saw, and other light construction tools. Highly helpful non-motorized tools include wheel hoe, collinear hoe, and Hatfield transplanter.
In mid-summer, work flow and training are 100% task-oriented, with some time (while thinning carrots etc.) to discuss the broader issues, but with focus on work. In early spring and late fall, it is possible to devote an hour or so a week exclusively to education. In addition, we have an extensive library of farming-related books which interns are free to borrow and read on their own time.
COMPENSATIONStipend: $1000 per month plus housing for 45-hour work weeks; plus $8.25 per hour for any overtime.
Housing: Interns share a 4-bedroom house just a minute's walk from the northern boundary of the farm. Interns from another local farm or other local folks may occupy the remaining bedrooms. Interns are expected to cooperate responsibly in the day-to-day cleaning of the house and to share in covering the electricity and internet costs.
