Apprenticeships at Wolf Pine Farm
Wolf Pine Farm is a small organic farm in southern Maine that
offers apprenticeships for motivated people interested in learning
about farming. Apprenticeships at Wolf Pine Farm are an opportunity
to become fully immersed in all aspects of the farm. Our hope is that
apprentices will use our farm as a stepping-stone to starting a farm
of their own. Whether you are new to the apprentice scene or have
worked at several other farms already we will work with you to develop
an apprenticeship that challenges you. Housing and a monthly stipend
of $800 will be provided in exchange for five and one half days of
work per week, plus rotating weekend chores. Apprentice candidates
must be hard working, cooperative, good-natured, & flexible. Contact
Amy at 207-324-2357 or click below to send us an email.
Physical Setting of Our Farm:
Our farm is located on 50
acres (half fields, half wooded) just off a fairly quiet road about
two miles from the town center of Alfred. The Mousam River runs along
the bottom of the property and is a great spot for swimming and
canoeing. There are many opportunities for hiking nearby as we are
surrounded by woods. The Massabesic Forest is a protected National
Forest across the street. Alfred neighbors Sanford, the geographical
center of New England, and is just 15-20 minutes away from Interstate
95 and the coastal towns of Biddeford, Kennebunk, and Wells. We are
within 40 minutes of both Portland, Maine and Portsmouth, New
Hampshire and we are two hours from Boston. There is a farmhouse,
garage, barn, lumber shed, an old schoolhouse and an apprentice cabin
on the property.
Our Farm Operation:
2008 will be our 8th summer at our farm. All of our
crops are organically grown. We are MOFGA certified. This year we
plan to grow on about 5 acres focusing on mixed vegetables, herbs, and
some flowers.
We are also incorporating laying hens to generate fresh eggs to be
sold to CSA members in the farm store. This year the farm store is
expanding its oferings of meat, cheese, and ice cream. We also plan
to add baked goods.
Other projects in the works for the 2008 season are a collaborative
study with the Maine Department of Agriculture examining microrhyzae
and soil fertility. We will also be planting strawberries and are
considering growing more cut flowers to increase the diversity of our
farm.
We have a greenhouse where we grow seedlings
for our own production. Wooded areas are
sustainably harvested for firewood for our own use and for some timber
for sale. This will be the 7th year of our Community Supported
Agriculture program. We are shooting for 240 members for this year,
including 10 working members.
In the past, we have also sold produce at the Saturday Portland Farmers'
Market, to vendors at the Portland Public Market, and to a number of
restaurants and caterers in the Portland area. At Wolf Pine Farm we
have a utility tractor that operates a spader for
preparing beds, a disk harrow for secondary tillage, and a mower for cutting down cover
crops and crops gone by. We also have a small seeding & cultivating tractor.
All other farm work is done by hand or with
the help of simple tools such as wheel hoes and small push seeders.
Apprentice Work and Expectations
Apprentice Duties:
Apprentices will assist with day to day operations of the farm and
will have the opportunity to learn the details of crop planning,
marketing, and financial planning that set the groundwork for a farm
season. Work alongside the farm manager includes doing tractor work,
greenhouse seeding, watering, field transplanting, direct seeding,
cultivating with hand hoes, hand weeding, harvesting, washing &
packing produce, helping with new member recruitment, creating signs
and posters for marketing displays, writing CSA newsletters, staffing
our CSA distribution area, interacting with customers, overseeing
volunteers & part time staff, making compost, doing small carpentry
projects, and cutting and splitting firewood.
Four Major Tasks Per Season::
Spring/Early Summer: greenhouse seeding, transplanting by hand, field
seeding, tractor work. Mid-Summer: transplanting, seeding,
cultivating, hand weeding, harvesting. Late-Summer: harvesting, transplanting,
seeding, planting cover crops. Fall: harvesting, planting garlic,
planning for next season, & preparations for winter
Harvesting:
Wolf Pine Farm offers consistently high quality produce directly to
CSA members. Apprentices will be trained to harvest,
wash, and pack produce so that it meets our farm standards.
Apprentices will also train volunteers and CSA working members in our
harvesting techniques.
Customer Service and Marketing:
Our CSA allows us to establish relationships and to share information
about food as well as our organic growing practices with our members.
Apprentices are an important part of these relationships. Apprentices
will become knowledgeable about as many aspects of the farm as
possible . It is extremely helpful if apprentices like talking with
customers and are interested in learning about the food that we grow
(varieties, taste, recipes, nutrition...), our organic growing
practices, and the social, ecological and economic role of
small farms.
On-Farm Schedule:
The days will change with the amount of daylight and with the amount
of produce being harvested. In general we will get an early start to
the day (7 a.m. during early spring and late fall and 6:00 a.m. for
most of the summer. We'll break for an hour at lunch, and we'll wrap
up at around 5:00 p.m. Each apprentice will be responsible for
covering the CSA distribution area one day each week during the CSA
season. Because the pickup goes beyond the normal work day, two hours
comp time will be given during other days of the week. We will work
full days Monday through Friday and a half day on Saturdays. Each
apprentice will have one Saturday off per month. Apprentices will
also rotate with other farm staff for occasional weekend farm chore
responsibilities. Applicants will be given more details on this
schedule during the interview process.
Days Off:
Holidays - The only holiday that is taken by the whole farm at once is
Memorial Day, May 28th before the CSA season has begun. Vacation -
Each apprentice will receive 5-1/2 days of vacation time (one full
farm week). During the first week of the apprenticeship, we will make
every effort to schedule vacation time. It is strongly recommended
that this time be taken in July or August. Personal Time - We all
have things that come up every now and then from doctors' appointments
to car repairs. Each apprentice is allowed up to 2 personal days.
There is no need to make up work for personal days and they do not
need to be taken as full days. It is expected that advance notice
will be given about the need for personal time and that opportunities
will be taken when possible to make personal time happen at convenient
times for the farm schedule. Sick Days - No one is expected to work
when sick and sick days do not need to be made up.
Apprentice Instruction and Training
During the interview process we will begin to discuss specific goals
that apprentices wish to achieve. At the beginning of the season we
will set up a plan for meeting those goals, including the scheduling
of periodic check-ins. The farm manager will provide supervision
and, at first, will work alongside apprentices in almost all projects,
demonstrating and discussing why we are doing a particular task in a
particular manner. Apprentices will often work independently once they
become comfortable with specific projects. We will spend time each
week assessing the needs of the farm for that week and developing an
action plan together. Apprentices have access to resources in our farm
library and may participate in MOFGA sponsored farm visits and
training programs in our area. The MOFGA sponsored Common Ground Fair is a valuable
learning experience. In addition to the booths and events at the fair
there are workshops offered on many topics throughout the weekend.
Apprentices will not have duties at the farm on that weekend so that
they will be available to attend the fair.
Housing
Housing is provided with this
apprenticeship in a rustic, new three-bedroom cabin on the farm. The
cabin is heated by a wood stove, limited electricity is provided by
solar panels, and it includes a kitchen, bathroom, and common area.
Any vegetables and herbs grown at the farm are available for household
use. Apprentices are responsible for all non-farm food. Cabin
residents will make a plan for meal schedules and responsibilities as
a group. Apprentices are responsible for the upkeep of their living
areas as well as having shared responsibilities for the other common
areas. Smoking and drugs are not allowed.
Vegetables & Food Preservation:
Part of the reason that we farm is that we like to eat good food. We
place a great deal of importance on preparing meals with seasonal
foods that we grow. As early as possible in the season we will do a
food preservation workshop in order to train apprentices how to
dehydrate foods and how to use our boiling water canner and pressure
canner. Apprentices who wish to preserve food for their personal use
may use farm equipment in their personal time. Abundant items,
surplus & seconds are available for food preservation, and the
apprentice will have the opportunity to have a personal garden plot if
desired. Start collecting Ball jars now from friends and relatives!
Farm Staff:
See the farm staff pages here.
How to Apply:
Interested candidates should call Amy at 207-324-2357
or send a letter of interest by email to the address below. Please
mention how you found out about our farm. We'll let you know if
apprentice positions are still available. Then we will require a
cover letter, resume, and three work references. We encourage all apprentice applicants to
apply through the MOFGA apprenticeship program.
Filling out their application is a useful exercise, because we ask many of the same questions!
Farm Visits
An interview/farm visit is required before we begin to officially
consider applicants for the position. If you have the luxury of
looking for an apprenticeship a year in advance it is recommended that
you come and spend a day at the farm during the summer helping out.
This is a good way to see what our operation is like and provides us
each an opportunity to work together before either one of us makes a
final decision.
Apprentice References:
If you would like to talk to a former apprentice about what it was
like to work at Wolf Pine Farm we can share their contact info with
you after the farm visit.
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