Apprenticeship, Education ​/ Teaching

Please review the

How to Apply

section for application instructions.

8 Dec 2025

The College Farm Apprenticeship is designed to offer recent college graduates an in-depth exposure to regenerative Organic vegetable and livestock production agriculture. With enthusiastic participation, this apprenticeship will serve as a valuable base upon which to build a career in agriculture. The experience is also applicable should apprentices choose to return to academic studies or seek other employment related to food, sustainability, and education.

The apprenticeship begins in mid to late May and ends in late November. Our workdays are typically from 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday, with an unpaid, one-hour lunch break. Those times may adjust seasonally or to accommodate weather.

Certain farm responsibilities occur on weekends or require work outside of the normal hours. These include daily livestock care, CSA clean up, irrigation during the dry season, greenhouse management, farmers’ market, and food service events. Apprentices are required to participate in a coordinated, rotating schedule with other farm staff for certain tasks outside of normal work hours. Apprentices can trade odd work hours for time off during normal business hours to accommodate personal needs.

During the summer months, apprentices will be part of a team made up of full-time student employees and farm staff. During this time, each apprentice will gain a broad exposure to nearly all facets of the farm. When classes resume in the fall, apprentices take more of a leadership role on the farm, leading part-time students and volunteers on prescribed tasks and work projects.

The goal of this program is to equip apprentices with the knowledge and skills to do their work well, and to help them develop important leadership qualities. At times this will require the farm managers to provide respectful constructive feedback. We value open communication and request that applicants be receptive to the idea of receiving feedback to improve upon their work and overall experience.

Communication happens in both directions – managers will work to develop a relationship of trust where apprentices feel comfortable expressing their needs and feelings pertaining to the farm.

One of the most important aspects of our program is that apprentices will be asked to assume individual areas of responsibility under close supervision of a farm manager. In these roles, apprentices will receive careful training and encouragement but will ultimately be asked to take diligent ownership and lead execution of day-to-day duties.

• Pastured Cattle Care and Beef Marketing
• Organic Greenhouse Controlled Environment Management and Seedling Production
• Organic Vegetable Irrigation
• Small Farm Machine Operation and Maintenance
• On-Site Farm Store & U-Pick Management
• Fresh Product Inventory Management and Processing
• Biogas Production and Food Waste Recovery
• Food Service Event Support

Please note that we offer exposure and experience to many more facets of the farm enterprise, but these are the critical areas of production where we offer formalized experience. Please also note that each apprentice will experience some exposure to each of the above areas of responsibility but one will be asked to take the lead.

The Apprenticeship Program is also a chance to live and work on a farm – witnessing the seasonal transitions and other discoveries of place-based living that can only be experienced through an on-site residency. By living on the farm, this program aims to cultivate a sense of community among the farm apprentices. The apprentices are expected to work constructively to resolve conflicts that arise, and to contribute to keeping shared spaces sanitary and tidy.

We endeavor to provide varied opportunities both on and off the farm for personal and career development for all employees. This includes:

• Weekly paid farm meetings and educational programs during the summer.
• Occasional field trips to respected, local food system enterprises during the paid work week.
• Optional social visits or educational visits to other farms…