Cedar Down Farm is located in Grey County, Ontario outside of the town of Neustadt, about 45 minutes south of Owen Sound. Our farm is 95 acres including hay fields, forest, streams and ponds. We grow 7 acres of certified organic vegetables for 150 summer and 100 winter CSA shareholders and for one farmers market.
We have two opportunities available for the 2012 farming season:
• 1 beginner internship position: As a beginner intern, you may not have had a full season’s experience on a working farm but have a keen interest in learning about sustainable farming and working full time on an organic farm.
• 1 senior internship position: As a senior intern, you have had at least 1 full season’s experience on a working farm and wish to further your education with more focused learning, the opportunity for a self-directed work project, and continued experience working on a farm.
Both interns will work and learn alongside Cedar Down’s two farmers, Jeff Boesch and Leslie Moskovits from May 1 to November 1, 2012. These are working/learning opportunities for individuals who are considering farming as a career option and want to learn from hands-on experience working in the context of a functioning farm business. There will also be opportunities for more formal education days with workshops and farm visits.
You will gain experience in the following areas:
• Business and financial planning
• Crop planning
• Transplant production
• Field work (including ploughing, discing, cultivating, bed formation and in-row cultivating)
• Planting and seeding
• Irrigation
• Weed and pest control
• Equipment maintenance, repair, design and building, including arc and gas welding
• Cover cropping
• Proper harvest and post-harvest handling of diverse vegetables
• Marketing through CSA and Farmers Market
• Winter veggie storage for winter CSA
Other enterprises and opportunities for learning on the farm include: growing in hoop houses, beekeeping, forest-based mushroom cultivation, organic orcharding, and grain and pulse cultivation for grain CSA.
For the beginner intern:
The farm will provide:
• A safe and supportive work environment
• Lots of good, hard work
• A team of farmers dedicated to your education
• Room and board in our spacious farm house (the best food around and a swimming pond!)
• $200 per month of stipend
• 1 week vacation
• Monthly education/field trip days
• The opportunity to engage with a burgeoning community of young organic farmers. Our farm is located in a vibrant organic farming community with 4 other organic farms on the same road and others close by.
What we expect from a 1st year intern:
• Though you may not have a full season’s experience working on a farm, you have a keen interest in learning about organic farming and expect an educational work experience.
• 40 to 50 work hours per week from May 1 to November 1.
• You will work alongside farm managers and one other intern, generally from 6am until 4pm, Monday to Friday
• You will be occasionally responsible for 1 of our 4 weekly distribution points (CSA drop-off or market)
• A positive attitude and dedication to good communication
• Attentiveness and self-motivation; the ability to work independently and also as an effective and supportive team member.
For the senior intern:
The farm will provide:
• A safe and supportive work environment
• Lots of good, hard work
• A team of farmers dedicated to your education
• Room and board in our spacious farm house (the best food around and a swimming pond!)
• $800 per month of stipend
• 1 week vacation
• Monthly education/field trip days
• The opportunity to pursue a self-directed project on the farm or to focus on a particular aspect of the farm in which you want more experience i.e greenhouse production, machinery, livestock or machinery.
• The opportunity to engage with a burgeoning community of young organic farmers. Our farm is located in a vibrant organic farming community with 4 other organic farms on the same road and others close by.
What we expect from senior intern:
• Minimum of 1 season’s experience on a farm
• An interest in pursuing sustainable vegetable production as a career
• 40 to 50 work hours per week from May 1 to November 1.
• Working alongside farm managers, generally from 6am until 4pm, Monday to Friday
• Responsible for doing one of our 4 weekly distribution points (CSA drop-off or market)
• A positive attitude and dedication to good communication
• Attentiveness and self-motivation; the ability to work independently and also as an effective and supportive team member.
• A driver’s license
We are dedicated to providing a working and learning environment that is supportive, open and encouraging and we hope for the same dedication from our intern.
Please send your cover letter and resume to Leslie at info@cedardownfarm.ca by January 25 2012.
Check out our website for more information on the farm and farmers: http://www.cedardownfarm.ca
