Ecological Farming Internships in Ontario

Ecological Farming Internships from CRAFT South Western Ontario – 2016

Locations: across Southwestern Ontario / near Guelph, Kitchener, London, and more.

If you’re ready for a full, hands-on experience that will immerse you in ecological farming then you’ve come to the right place. CRAFT Ontario is your gateway to a farming internship experience that will change your life. Whether your dream is to have your own organic farm one day or you just want to learn some food-growing and hands-on skills that can be applied in other parts of your life, a farming internship is a powerful experience that will equip you with the tools and insights to make a real difference in the world.

Each CRAFT farm operates independently and offers its own internship with individualized agreements around such things as living and eating arrangements, stipends, work hours, and training methods. For more details see the farm descriptions below and contact individual farms directly to apply or ask further questions.

Cedar Down Farm

Cedar Down Farm offers a positive and challenging internship position for an individual who is keen to learn how to market garden through hands-on experience. 185 summer and 100 winter CSA shares. We provide an intensive work-to-learn experience that will get you familiar with all aspects of running an organic vegetable farm, from planning to field work to customer service.

Creek Shore Farms

5 acres of land. We sell primarily through our summer and winter CSA programs, as well as at a farmers’ market and farm gate sales. You will have opportunities to spend time learning and doing field work, including planting, weeding, harvesting and soil management. Our farm relies heavily on equipment, much of it custom built or modified.

Common Ground Farm

We are located just north of Lake Erie, near London, Ontario on a 40 acre farm with 10 acres of deciduous forest and 24 acres of tillable land. We run a 120 member CSA and attend 2 farmer’s markets in the London area. We have 4 hoophouses and approximately 4 acres under cultivation. We can host 2-3 interns and have 3 full-time farmers for the 2016 season

Everdale (Two internship locations): Hillsburgh (rural) and Toronto (urban)

Everdale is CRAFT’s only tuition-based internship. We follow an intensive training curriculum that includes project work, field trips, and seminars as well as experiential learning on our diverse farm. The Rural and Urban SFC programs both include seminars, field trips and project work, as well as on-farm training days.

Fertile Ground CSA

5 acres certified organic vegetables near Waterloo. 100+ member CSA & farmers’ market with a focus on community-building and participation. Small flock of laying hens and beehives.

Fiddle Foot Farm

5 acre CSA & market garden, organic and biodynamic principles & practices, mixed livestock, season extension. Scenic Niagara Escarpment location, north of Orangeville.

Ignatius Farm & CSA

250 member vegetable CSA, structured education program including bi-weekly field trips, workshops and hands-on farm training. Team-oriented farming. 1 km from Guelph. 12 years of internship experience.

Kawthoolei Farm Organics

10 acre certified organic farm, 40 minutes from Stratford and London, growing a variety of vegetables and fruits including cranberries and sprouts. Some value added products. Direct sales via three markets in Stratford and London, plus a few restaurants and retail stores. Offering one intern position for a single person or a couple who are willing to come for the same conditions as one.

Kolapore Gardens

A biologically intensive market garden producing top quality, nutrient dense vegetables and herbs for the local communities. We are located next to a provincial park and plenty of wild forests and creeks. Summer & winter CSA, plus markets. Can share knowledge on crop rotation, business planning & soil care among other skills.

ManoRun Farm

40 acre farm operating a 120 member CSA, going to 2 Farmers Markets and offering an expanded education program that includes vegetable production, animal husbandry, food preservation, tours of local farms and one day per week to work on your chosen intern farm focus.

Marvellous Edibles Farm

We are looking for 3 interns who share our philosophy of accessible and affordable food and who will be involved in every aspect of our farming operation, from seed starting, planting out, irrigation, weeding, harvesting, post harvest care, marketing and preserving the excess harvest. For those interested we are happy to mentor the business side of farming, and what it takes to own and run a small farm without having to work out of the farm.

Meeting Place Organic Farm

Join us for a season of learning as we continue the transition of bringing our daughter into our horsepowered mixed livestock operation. We’ll share our 40 years of experience in growing & preserving our own food, raising pastured livestock, working with draft horses, and Holistic Management practices that guide it all.

Certified organic:

Orchard Hill Farm

Horse-powered CSA for 200 members with on farm pick-ups only. We are happy to share the lessons of our 30 years of farming and to teach the many skills (from crop planning on paper, through field and garden work, to harvest and marketing) that young farmers require to get started on their own.

Persephone Market Garden

50+ member CSA. We practice intensive crop rotation, relay cropping and intercropping and our fertility management is based on integration with livestock (sheep, horses and laying hens), as well as cover crops.

Plan B Organic Farms

50 acres of Certified Organic mixed veggies, 5 greenhouses for season extension. We also harvest from a 4 acre organic vineyard, for our 500+ member CSA and 3 weekly farmers’ markets. Located in rural part of Hamilton.

Reroot Organic Farm

Certified organic 100 share vegetable CSA and farmers’ markets, pastured pork and poultry, grass-fed beef, free-range laying hens and small apiary.

Saugeen River CSA

Saugeen River CSA: 80 acre Biodynamic farm. Six acre garden powered mostly by draft horses, for CSA and Market. Small herd of Highland cattle, pigs, chickens, ducks and a good time for all!

Seilern Farm

Free-Range, Pasture Raised, GMO free, transitioning Organic Heritage Pork, Turkey and Chicken.

Shared Harvest Community Farm and Education Centre

7 acres mixed veggies, 32 week 80 member CSA, Dufferin Grove Farmers Market, certified kitchen, canning, fermenting food, chickens, community education centre, stilt walkers, greenhouse and not-for-profit org. Focusing on community building.

Whole Circle Farm

Organic and biodynamic practices, 8+ acres mixed veggies and year-round greens for a 46 week CSA & year-round markets. Cows, pigs, chickens, maple syrup, grains and a highly respected education program. 

Zócalo Organics

Certified Organic Farm, 30 minutes from Guelph, growing vegetables for a 100 member CSA and specialty salad blends for 12 restaurants in both field and greenhouses. Jean-Martin Fortier’s, “The Market Gardener” is our style of growing; maximizing production and profitability on a small acreage with walk-behind tractor and hand-tools. Accessible and inspiring learning for beginners.  

What is CRAFT Ontario?

CRAFT (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training) is a collaboration of organic and biodynamic farms whose aim is to provide opportunities for interns to learn more about sustainable small-scale agricultural production. The CRAFT program offers on-farm training to the interns of all regional CRAFT farms. Monthly CRAFT field days include a potluck lunch, a group activity, a workshop, and a field tour.

For more information about these ecological farming internships, visit: https://www.craftsouthwestontario.ca

To apply for the ecological farming internships, please contact individual farms directly.