Company description

We are a grass roots farm humanely raising the highest quality mountain raised pork, grass-fed beef, pasture raised chicken & eggs and mushrooms we can in the Appalachian mountains of Pennsylvania. We are always chemical free and try to mimic natures patterns in our farming methods. We sell at farmer's markets, ship online and have a food truck we sell our food through.  

Internship description

Please go to our website for a complete listing and more jobs as well https://roosterdirtfarm.com/pages/work-opportunities

We are excited to finally offer an apprenticeship program. We are at the point in our farming journey that we feel confident in teaching others and sharing our experiences. The goal of our apprenticeship is to impart the knowledge and know how so that whoever completes our program will be able to leave and start their own farm from scratch with the best chance of being successful. We intend on sharing the economics and financials of farming all the way through production, harvest and marketing. We are a very diverse regenerative farm that tries to recreate as many natural processes as possible while also keeping in mind the economic reality of needing to make money. Through our apprenticeship, you can expect to learn about the following and more that I’m sure is escaping me at the moment:

• Pasture raised laying hens integrated with cattle grazing
  Pasture raised meat chicken production
• Grass fed raw milk dairy (we only do this for ourselves and do not sell milk or dairy products but have about 5 mini jerseys)
• Grass fed beef cattle using intensive rotational grazing
• Pasture and mountain raised mangalitsa pigs and the infrastructure involved in raising them
• Selective breeding pigs and raising your own stock for both breeding and feeder pigs
• Establishing and maintaining alley crop systems using berries and fruit & nut trees while still maintaining pasture
• Transforming scrub woods into Savannah like environments to graze cattle and pigs.
• Cultivating mushrooms and setting up the proper fruiting environment
• Making compost using chickens
• Basic vegetable production
• Marketing direct to consumer via farmers markets and online channels
• Maintaining a Shopify website and shipping frozen meat
• Acquiring new customers via traditional and advanced methods
• Building farm infrastructure and putting in water systems
• How to keep financial records, manage cash flow and depreciate infrastructure costs.

Apprentices would work closely with myself, Logan, on day to day tasks such as weeding, moving fences & animals, harvesting, washing eggs, packing, catching animals, doing tractor work, occasional dirty work such as shoveling manure and other random farm tasks. Apprentices will also be expected to be able to work alone and assume responsibility for these tasks on some occasions. Being self motivated, driven, RELIABLE, responsible, willing to learn, friendly, and having persistence is a must for this apprenticeship. It is hard work but what makes it great is we are never on one task for very long. There is variety from day to day.

The apprentice also must be willing to drive 1.5 hours each way, one or two Saturdays and Sundays a month to run the farmers market stand alone. A vehicle will be provided but you must have a drivers license.

$15-$20/hour based on experience.  I can also provide housing that is about a 600 square foot house located a 5 minute drive from the farm. Compensation would also include access to any food that we produce on the farm. The house does have a full kitchen.

I can promise you will learn a lot and no two days will be the same on the farm! We live in a beautiful small part of Pennsylvania with tons of outdoor activities and natural beauty within minutes of the farm. We are 2 minutes outside a small town will most amenities you will need. If you are reading this and think you'd be a good fit, I'd love to meet you and have you come farm with me!

P.S. We have two dogs and two small children running around the farm as well.

Compensation

this position is: hourly, $15-20/hr

Application instructions

Deadline

March 18, 2025