Cultivating New Farmers
(Page 4 of 5)
February/March 2007
By Jean English
Another place to look for on-the job training isWorld-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF), an organization where volunteers learn firsthand about organic growing by helping farmers. The program is open to anyone older than 16, and puts volunteers in contact with organic host farms in the country of their choice to make their own arrangements.
RELATED CONTENT
Musical icon and Farm Aid president Willie Nelson kicked off last September’s annual Farm Aid conce...
From using biodiesel in their buses to serving locally grown food in their cafeterias, universities...
From solar panels to composting bins to recycling systems, the major leagues are greening their sta...
Hand-lettering is easy to learn, worth money, and takes us back a little way toward the days when f...
Large automakers can show off their high-efficiency vehicles in a new division of the Automotive X ...
Marada Cook “WWOOFed” on a mixed vegetable farm in New Zealand for five months during her senior year in high school. “It was terrific,” she says. “I went to school there and worked on the family farm. That’s when I realized there were people all over the world doing farming projects they were passionate about.”
She says the experience was less formal than an internship, and while it didn’t pay a wage, housing and food were provided. Because so many volunteer opportunities exist, “WWOOFers” have many options when choosing the locations and types of farms where they want to work. (See left for another WWOOF experience.)
Also look for state and regional organizations that work with farm apprentices. For example, MOFGA has trained an estimated thousand or more apprentices in its 35-year history. Marshall has worked with many apprentices as the educational programs director. He says that while MOFGA apprentices say they learn a lot from the program, most never go on to farm. “A lot are very idealistic at first, but the apprenticeship is a reality check. Some thrive and some don’t. An apprenticeship is definitely a good thing to do before a four-year program instead of after.” Also, a single apprenticeship is not enough to prepare someone to farm, Marshall says. “Hopefully the person would go on to a multi-year apprenticeship, maybe apprenticing between each year of college and on more than one farm, if that’s affordable, then on to a journey person position.”
A Farm of Your Own
Sooner or later, it’s time to make the commitment to start farming on your own. Once you’re ready to take that step, Allan says, “Start small and don’t get into debt. Don’t expect to get rich, but rather seek to have a richly rewarding life.”
That was Guzzi’s experience. He first rented, and now owns, Peacemeal Farm in Dixmont, Maine, where he grows nine acres of herbs and vegetables with help from about a dozen workers. Guzzi has found a ready market for this produce: Peacemeal sells at farmers markets seven days a week in the summer, as well as to natural food stores and restaurants. He’s pleased with his choice of career. As he explains it: “What could be better than to make a living on the land while helping to feed all those nice people out there?”
Page:
<< Previous 1 |
2 |
3 | 4 |
5 |
Next >>
