PASA Farm Apprenticeships for Farmers and Learners

Posted on November 23, 2021 by Taylor in Apprenticeship, Beginning Farmers, Education, Farming // 0 Comments

PASA Farm Apprenticeships Are a Great Opportunity for Both Farmers and Learners. Consider Being a 2022 PASA Farm Apprentice or Host.

Did you know that 75 percent of beginning farmers under the age of 40 in the U.S. did not grow up on a farm? Without the traditional transfer of farming knowledge between parents and children, farmer training opportunities are more important than ever.

We’re proud to facilitate state- and federally recognized apprenticeships that help meet the workforce needs of established vegetable and dairy grazing farms, while providing comprehensive, “learn while you earn” skills training to the next generation of sustainable food producers.

Additionally, this year we registered our first pre-apprenticeship program, which offers introductory hands-on training and guides people through the first steps of exploring careers in agriculture.

PASA farm apprenticeships are a win-win-win—for beginning farmers, for existing farms, and for the future of our food system.

Meet a few apprentices growing a brighter future for our food system…

Before digging into Diversified Vegetable Apprenticeship at New Morning Farm, Subarna Sijapati trained as a chef and ran a catering company. Through his relationships with the local farmers he sourced ingredients from, Subarna developed an interest in learning to work the land. He hopes to combine these experiences into a future farm-to-table operation. Learn more about Diversified Vegetable Apprenticeship >>

Emma den Hoed completed her Diversified Vegetable Pre-Apprenticeship at the LEAF Project earlier this fall. In addition to covering topics like pest prevention and season extension, the curriculum also delves into the business side of farming. LEAF has their students look closely at the budget, which Emma says, “gave us deeper insight on why we grow certain crops and sell certain items in markets.” Learn more about Pre-Apprenticeship >>

Williams Benitez recently immigrated to the U.S. from El Salvador, where his family has a history of dairy farming. Since 2019, he’s been apprenticing at Clover Creek Cheese Cellar with Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship Mentor Grazier, David Rice. During this time at Clover Creek, Williams has also been growing his own herd, with an eye toward establishing his own dairy. Learn more about Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship >>

Are you a farm owner or manager in Pennsylvania? Apprenticeship is for you, too! Help train the next generation of sustainable producers—and gain a committed, pre-qualified employee—by hosting an apprentice on your farm.