Back To Square One. Again.

What does a head of cabbage have to do with job searching, you ask? Absolutely nothing.

Hello all. It's been a couple weeks... and what an eventful two weeks it has been, between Thanksgiving, helping my parents do some home renovation work, and excavating my pit of a room as Step One of the "I'm Going to Grad School Next Year and Need to Move Out" plan*...all of which helped to distract me from the email I got right after arriving home.

The email, from the Sieberts of Clear Spring Creamery fame (remember them?) basically told me that while they like me, they can't afford to have a full-time, paid intern who will be leaving in August. They did offer me an unpaid but full room/board sort of situation - not unlike being a WWOOF-er - for a few days a week, which would allow me to find a part-time job off farm. It's not ideal, but what is?

It is, however, a plan fully dependent on my ability to find some sort of part time work. Which I definitely could, but I am picky, and I'm the first to admit it. Also, said part time work would likely be in Baltimore or DC, which would be a lot of driving.

This is unfortunately the same story I've heard from multiple farms - "We'd like to hire you, but we need someone here the full season. Sorry." So while I'm not totally back at Square One... I'm sort of back at Square One.Which has me re-evaluating my situation. After some thought, I've come up with the following three options:



Continue the Farm Search
Just because I keep coming up empty doesn't mean it will happen forever. I actually sent in a farm application just this morning. Who knows? It never hurts.


WWOOF-ing Galore
Not gonna lie... I find this a very attractive idea. It gives me the chance to travel around, to work on a variety of different farms, meet a ton of people, and to continue learning. It allows me to be as flexible as I want with my schedule, which is handy. And wonder of wonders... one of my AmeriCorps friends emailed me just yesterday asking if I'd like to WWOOF with her in California for a month, starting in late January. Serendipity? Perhaps.

There are some cons, however. A big one is money. I saved a few thousand this past year, which is not too shabby, but I was planning on keeping it back for grad school. So before I go haring off into the Wide World of WWOOF, I will need to do some calculating and some budgeting.

Another con is that, in an ideal world, I'd like to stick close to DC for (ahem) personal reasons. At any rate, the idea bears some thought.


Other Job Options
Although farm work is pretty high on my list of what I'd like to do, there are a lot of other opportunities out there that could be very valuable learning experiences. There's a lot to be said for working in a nonprofit or for an agency where I can learn about grassroots organizing, the legislative process, media/communications work, or other skills useful for advocacy.

I've been checking Idealist and Good Food Jobs regularly for internship opportunities - sent in two applications this morning, as a matter of fact. A lot of those jobs happen to be unpaid, however, and if I'm going to be unpaid, it will be while WWOOF-ing.




So that is where I am. Updates to follow, of course. And any thoughts or ideas are appreciated, naturally.




*No judgment, please. I have 25 years worth of stuff in there.

Back To The Drawing Board...

As the end of my time at Brightwood Vineyard and Farm draws near, I am starting to think about what I'm going to do once October 31 rears its head, and my internship is officially done.

Ideally, I'd like to find another farm apprenticeship - or perhaps an internship for a non-profit organization - for the first six months or so of next year. So now it begins again... trawling sites like ATTRA, Good Food Jobs, Sustainable Food Jobs and Backdoor Jobs, dusting off my resume and letters of interest, and emailing farms far and wide.

Since I'm hoping to begin graduate school in Fall 2012, it means I won't be available for the full growing season, which cuts a lot of farms out of the equation. However, a lot of places hire shorter-term help in spring. There are also dairies and livestock operations that need workers year round.... or so I'm hoping.

Of course, getting started early isn't necessarily helpful. Most farms haven't even begun to start thinking about hiring for next year, or even updated their ATTRA listings. Internships for non-profits are still only posting jobs for this autumn. But as Popeye said, "I yam who I yam", and I plan in advance. Far in advance.

I'll be posting updates about the job sitch as I continue to research and (hopefully) to hear back from potential farms. So wish me luck, friends.

ATTRA - Another One Bites the Dust

I'm sure everyone remembers when I mentioned ATTRA back in January. (Hah. Hah.)

ATTRA, also known as the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service,* became another victim of the rambunctious federal budget cuts this week.

This makes me sad. ATTRA was responsible for leading me to what I am now convinced was the best farm choice for me, hands down. Although I researched dozens of farms through many other resources, I found Brightwood Vineyard and Farm on ATTRA's quite comprehensive list of apprenticeships on organic farms, and therefore owe them an emormous debt of gratitude.

The list of organic farming internships is not all they do - ATTRA also has tons of resources for organic farmers and apprentices, including a very nice syllabus that Dean and Susan had printed out for us interns.**

At any rate, that's my sad news for the day. But I did get to read about composting in my new laminated and spiral bound syllabus book, which made me feel better. Sort of.

*I have no idea why they're called ATTRA, when their actual acronym is NSAIS.
**Or is it "we interns"? There needs to be an emergency grammar hotline for moments like this.

The Farming Internship, Part Two

Now that I've changed directions (again), I find myself back to square one. And as I mentioned in my last update, a lot of my considerations for WWOOF-ing transfer quite well into the realm of farming internships - the desire to travel, task variety, learning about organic agriculture and sustainability, and so on.
I've come up with a handy little To Do list that's helped me stay organized as I wade through the scores of farming internships that are out there. Here it is, for your viewing pleasure.

Research. Using sites like ATTRA, Tilth Producers of Washington, Back Door Jobs, the Sustainable Food Jobs blog, Google, and personal recommendations from friends and acquaintances, I've managed to acquire a tidy little list of farming internships that seems to fit the bill. These are farms that match my list of requirements - a blend of learning opportunities, including work with livestock and produce; room and board included; at least a small stipend to cover my student loan payments and stuff like toothpaste (I take oral hygiene very seriously); some company in the form of a couple other interns; and not in my usual stomping grounds, a.k.a. the Midwest. Setting these parameters helps to narrow the field considerably.

Despite their similarities, the farms have a lot of differences. Their locations, housing (Camping? Cabins? Yurts?), benefits, and to a certain extent,  how their internships operate are all wildly different. Some farms have very detailed, organized internships, with the growing season broken down week by week according to what they'll be doing. Others describe themselves as "learn by doing", which I interpret as a more "by the seat of your pants" approach. Some farms have years of experience with interns and apprentices... others, not so much. Some work with other organizations and farms to give their interns a broader education.

Bring on the email. After I'd filled out my WWOOF Farm Internship spreadsheet, I started contacting each and every farm on there. For the most part, this involved something to the effect of, "Hi, I've never farmed before but I'd really like to learn. How do I apply to your lovely farm?" I started this part over a month ago, and I'm still getting responses from farmers who were on vacation, or perhaps just don't check their email that often.

For the most part, it involves sending them my resume and three references, so once I had those updated, it's a pretty simple process. In some cases, their websites had instructions for the application process, in which case I went ahead and sent them in without peppering their email with questions.

To date, I've sent in applications to (I think) one farm in California, three in Washington, three in Maryland, one in Massachusetts, and one in Virginia, with more to come.

Visits and Interviews. This is the step that I'm just beginning. Thanks to the weather (we're smack dab in the middle of an ice storm), I had to cancel a visit to White Rose Farm in Taneytown, Maryland that was supposed to take place tomorrow. I should be able to make it to the Brightwood Vineyard and Farm in Brightwood, Virginia on Friday, however. For interested farms that I can't visit, hopefully we should soon be setting up phone interviews. Naturally I will post the results of my visits on here.

Start the internship. The sooner, the better!

And that's that. I'm continuing to research and apply to farms I find interesting, and following up with those who haven't gotten back to me yet.

Look for an update next week, detailing my road trip out east, with pit stops in Perry Point, Maryland to visit some AmeriCorps friends; Brightwood Vineyard and Farm; and Chatham University in Pittsburgh, where I'm checking out their new Masters program in Food Studies.

The Farming Internship, Part One

I started this blog in order to document my WWOOF-ing adventures. I know this. But that does not change the fact that sometimes, circumstances change.

It is my duty to now inform you, dear readers, that you have been misled. This blog will no longer be the blog of a WWOOF-er. I accept full responsibility for the deception, and will attempt to make any repatriations necessary for those who feel hoodwinked. But I must be allowed to state my case - then, and only then, can you take me to task if I have been neglectful of my duties as a blogger for and devotee of the organic and local food movement.

Basically, it comes down to what I feel will serve me best as I attempt to educate myself about small farm operations. I think WWOOF-ing is wonderful, and it's still something I'd like to do in the future - possibly for some months next year as I wait for grad school to start. But in the meantime, I am directing my attentions to the ever-useful Farming Internship.

I started thinking about farming internships as an option after a friend/co-worker directed me to the ATTRA website (also known as the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service... nothing close to "ATTRA," now that I think about it), which has quite a detailed and informative directory for farming internships and apprenticeships in the US and Canada. You can search by state/province, city, farm name, or keyword. After perusing a few descriptions, I started thinking about whether an internship was for me. And...I decided it was.

Two words: "Learning Experience." The whole point of WWOOF-ing (apart from the travel, the adventure, and the free food, of course) is that I want to be learning about organic agriculture - I want to network with farmers who rely on it for their livelihoods, I want to learn about issues in the field*, and I want to pick up lifeskills like plucking chickens, canning tomatoes and making things grow out of a field without managing to kill them in the process.

Yes, WWOOF-ing can and does expose you to these things, but internships are designed to put education first. A lot of the internships I'm looking into have relationships with other farms and organizations that allow interns to visit and learn about other types of organic ventures, attend workshops, take classes, etc. And the whole point is to educate people like me, who have barely a scrap of farming experience.

Also, as a WWOOF-er you might have some say in what you do. It probably depends on the farm and what they need, how many WWOOF-ers they have around, and how much experience you have. But your chances are better with a farmer whose intention is to teach you, rather than just have you do whatever work they need done.

Money and stuff. Not to be too crude about it, but while WWOOF host farms give you room and board in exchange for your work, you're on your own for any other expenses. A lot of internships have stipends - not much, but if it pays for my toothbrush and soap and gas for my car, then it certainly helps. And actually, a lot of the stipends I've seen pay as much (if not more) than my stipend as an AmeriCorps NCCC volunteer. A couple even provide health benefits, although I think that's outside the norm. Who knew?

What about travel and adventure and being a free spirit? So I'll be in one place for six to eight months instead of traveling around that entire time - my experience will be all the richer for it. I'm not saying you can't make good friends in a month or six weeks, but I like the idea of really getting to know the location, the other workers/interns, and the farmers who are teaching me. And it's not like I won't be traveling - as you'll see eventually, I'm applying all over the US... although my home territory, the good ol' Midwest, isn't receiving any love. Not that I don't love Indiana, but I want to travel, and that means going away. Far, far away.

And like I said, I still see myself WWOOF-ing in my "off months". By then, I'll have more experience under my belt, so maybe I won't be stuck picking grape tomatoes for seven hours a day.

And what about trying new things, learning different skills, and not getting stuck with one job? I'm glad you asked. According to my recent bedtime reading partner, a small family farm is a tightly contained, sustainable organism in a way. It doesn't produce a monoculture of just one crop - corns, soybeans, wheat - because not only is that unsustainable and terrible for the health and chemistry of the soil, but no one can survive on just corn or soybeans or wheat. A local, small, family farm has its fingers in a lot of pies - it grows a variety of produce, it puts up jams and jellies and canned goods for winter, and it often has livestock such as poultry, sheep and/or beef running around. The crops are rotated every year, since different crops require different nutrients and the farmer doesn't want to deplete the soil; the poultry eat pests and scratch up the soil, helping to prevent weeds; food waste goes to the pigs, and manure from livestock is in turn used to fertilize the growing produce. Also, if one crop (say, tomatoes) goes kaboom one year, Mr. Farmer isn't royally screwed for not growing anything else.

My whole point here is that working on one farm for an entire growing season doesn't mean I won't get the opportunity to do a variety of jobs. In fact, that's something I've taken into account as I've researched farms. I'm only applying to places that grow produce and keep some variety of livestock, with the hopes that I will get the chance to do a bit of everything.

Join me soon for Part Two, in which I struggle with deciding..... WHERE I SHOULD GO. (dum dum dummmm)



*This pun will never get old for me. And if you don't like puns, don't read this blog. And don't ever meet me.