Liberty Farms Seeks Apprentices – New York

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Liberty Farms Seeks Apprentices for the 2017 Season in New York

Liberty Farms, www.libertyfarmsny.com, is a new Biodynamically/Organically managed farm committed to teamwork with experienced farmers at the helm, located in Columbia County, NY, a vibrant farming community.  We are looking for apprentices who want to be involved in setting up working farm systems, have excellent communication skills, and are willing to work well with others.

During the season, March 1 or April 1 to Thanksgiving, Liberty Farms apprentices will be exposed to all vegetable production and marketing skills, from budget making to seeding to harvesting to end of season review.  In addition, there are some basic farm animal chores and landscaping duties to add some diversity to the workflow.

We would be happy to work with apprentices that have had some previous farm experience.

A good work ethic and a sense of humor are always helpful. Having your own vehicle is also important for your own personal use.

This is a full time position that is for one season or longer. Housing and stipend offered. Please send resumes to:

libertyfarmsapprenticeship@gmail.com

Learning about agriculture has been a tradition ever since humans began to domesticate animals, plants and the landscape around us.  Rarely has that educational practice happened solely in the classroom.  Throughout history, farmers learned by working alongside their elders and by participating in agriculturally based communities.

We at Liberty Farms are trying to do our part, through an intensive and educational Apprenticeship Program, to offer an opportunity to explore and learn about all aspects of farming, from daily chores to seasonal overviews and discussions of managerial decisions.

Farm work can be, and often is, very physically demanding.  It can be both fast paced and slow paced in ways that our high tech society does not prepare us for.   Farming is rewarding and fulfilling, and it can also be difficult, repetitive, and challenging.

If you are experienced, you will be part of a team that will integrate you into all aspects of the farm.  If you haven’t worked on a farm, you may be starry-eyed about farming, maybe even intellectual and theoretical in your support of farming, and an Apprenticeship will give you a sense of reality through your own hands.  One cannot solely think through farming.  It has to be experienced, over and over again, in the cold, the rain, the mud, in the August heat, in addition to more comfortable weather.  It has to be experienced when everything works perfectly, and when a piece of broken equipment is fixed on the spot with bailing twine and duct tape.  On all days, challenging and not, you will be working on a team with your fellow farm crew members.  The work of a farm never ends and always needs to be done.  It is one of the best things in the world to experience.

Work weeks are five and a half days per week.  Schedules must be adhered to.  Punctuality is important in order to be respectful to fellow farm team members and to the importance of the work at hand.

Sit-down, concentrated educational opportunities will be part of the Apprenticeship Program and are concentrated in the early and late seasons.  During March and April we cover an overview and introduction to farming practices and theory, and during November there is a review of the season and looking toward planning for the next year.  You will work alongside our head farmer who has a wealth of knowledge and experience in all aspects of farm operations.  Questions are discussed anytime the workflow allows, which is most of the time.