Meet the pioneering, sustainable, good, clean, and fair host farms partnering with Anne Saxelby Legacy Fund
We are always looking for more farm partners! If you would like to be participate as a Host Farm, please email susie@AnneSaxelbyLegacyFund.org
Jasper Hill Farm
Greensboro, VT
Great collaborators of Saxelby Cheesemongers, Jasper Hill is a working dairy farm with an on-site creamery in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and an underground aging facility that maximizes the potential of cheeses made by the creamery, as well as those made by other local producers.
Apprentices would help primarily with Affinage work — or hands-on cheese care in the Cellars. They would learn cheese mongering from paper-wrapping to cheese service in the new tasting room. They would join in for educational staff trainings, classes for the public, and 'Cheese Camp' sessions where cheese professionals come up to learn about our process and cheese in general. They would also see other parts of the business like the farm, creameries, cropping center and the marketing office/fulfillment center.
This Apprenticeship is made possible by the Daniel Sokoloff Memorial Scholarship.
Uplands Cheese
Dodgeville, WI
Owned and operated by two families, Andy and Caitlin Hatch and Scott and Liana Mericka, the rhythms of this farm dovetail perfectly with the Alpine-style cheesemaking traditions where cheese is made in the summer months when the cows are out grazing on pasture. The farm’s signature cheeses are Pleasant Ridge Reserve and Rush Creek Reserve.
An Apprenticeship at Uplands which sits up on top of Pleasant Ridge, in the Driftless region of southwestern Wisconsin, would include working with the cows on the many pastures of the farm, milking them, and working with the team in the make room to produce and ship their signature, award-winning, two cheeses!
Anishinaabe Agriculture Institute
Ponsford, MN
The Anishinaabe Agriculture Institute is situated at the headwaters of the Mississippi River in northwestern Minnesota, the homeland and cultural corridor of the Anishinaabe people. Founded by legendary Native American leader and former Vice-Presidential candidate Winona LaDuke, their work centers on restoring biodiversity, reviving Indigenous foodways, and the rematriacian of seeds and heritage crops.
Across their six different farm sites, the Anishinaabe Agriculture Institute’s horse-powered operations cultivate roughly 40 acres of hemp, heritage produce, wild rice, maple syrup, and foraged food and medicine. They create products like hemp-based pestos, teas, and skincare, and are working on upcoming production of goat cheese, hides, textiles, smoked fish, and roasted coffee. Apprentices this summer will have the opportunity to hop between the Institute's many enterprises, and ground their learning in a praxis of food sovereignty, liberation, and climate resilience.
Talbott & Arding
Hudson, NY
Kate Arding, a celebrated cheesemonger, and Mona Talbott, a renowned chef, founded Talbott & Arding in 2014. After years spent in kitchens, on farms and behind cheese counters around the world, they settled in the agricultural epicenter that is the Hudson Valley. Situated on Allen Street in downtown Hudson, NY, Talbott & Arding is the Hudson Valley’s go-to haven for locally-sourced, farm-to-table prepared foods, cheese and provisions. Talbott & Arding Cheese & Provisions was built as a tribute to the region.
An Apprenticeship at Talbott & Arding would include a good amount of time at their landmark store but also include time on farms such as Sugar House Creamery, a farmstead creamery in the high peaks of the Adirondacks where the milk of Brown Swiss cows is turned into cheese. There will also be visits to other dairies, farms, and businesses in the beautiful region of the Hudson Valley who work with this one of a kind store!
Stony Pond Farm
Fairfield, VT
A family-owned, certified organic farm specializing in supreme quality fluid milk, farmstead cheese and naturally raised 100% grass-fed and grass-finished beef, stewarded by Tyler & Melanie Webb. Their mission is to live freely as part of a farm entity whose primary purpose is to share food that is healthy for the environment, the mind, body and the soul. It is all one, and the happy, fulfilled, prosperous farmer that shares life with blissful contented cows, passes on food to the consumer unmatched in quality.
An Apprenticeship at Stony Pond Farm will get an overview of the entire operation from working with the cows and setting-up paddocks and water lines to spending time making cheese and flipping wheels in the cave. The majority of the work will be focused in the creamery, working side by side with Melanie and assisting in the production of their small-scale, organic cheese line up. Throughout the internship there will be opportunities get to know the local farming community through visits with neighboring cheesemakers and farmers.
Thanksgiving Farm
Sullivan County, NY
The Center for Discovery® is improving the local and state economy, the fields of education, healthcare and research, and most of all, the lives of individuals with complex conditions, such as autism. The Center has become a magnet institution where individuals from around the region and world travel to receive highly advanced care and access to groundbreaking research.
The Department of Nourishment Arts (D.N.A.) is the food and agricultural backbone for The Center for Discovery® and Thanksgiving Farm® encompasses over 300 certified organic acres. Each year, the Farm grows over 60 different kinds of vegetables, flowers, and herbs, and is home to three orchards. The farms boast several species of livestock including beef cattle, laying hens, pigs, as well as bees for honey.
An Apprenticeship at the Center would include living on the Center grounds and working on the farms with chefs and farmers to provide nourishment to the residents and to local members of the Sullivan County community.
Blakesville Creamery
Port Washington, WI
A farmstead goat cheese maker established in 2020 located on the shores of Lake Michigan in Port Washington, Wisconsin and led by Veronica Pedraza, a world-class cheesemaker, beer connoisseur, and Anne’s first employee at her original Essex Market shop!
At Blakesville Creamery an Apprentice might learn how to milk goats using inflations; how and when to feed goats; the basics of sanitation (i.e. how to make cheese safely); the basics of milk chemistry (i.e. what is milk); how to culture and coagulate milk to make cheese; how to "hoop" curds into cheese-forms; how to salt cheese; how to care for cheese (affinage).
Newman Farm
Myrtle, MO
Newman Farm is a beautiful farm in the Ozarks on the border of Arkansas and Missouri that raises the oldest genetic line of Berkshire pigs in the nation. Dr. David Newman and his wife Kristin Newman are leading the way in protocols for raising pigs on pasture and maintaining pure lines of heritage breeds, which means a healthy and happy animal.
An Apprenticeship on Newman Farm will include livestock handling 101 including animal welfare for swine, cattle, and sheep; daily feeding, water requirements, housing requirements, and day-to-day chores; the basics of animal breeding strategies, specifically Berkshire hogs and cattle; the science behind creating superior eating quality meats; and information about livestock production and meat science.
The Von Trapp Farmstead and Mad River Taste Place
Mad River Valley, VT
The Mad River Valley is a clearly defined geographic area, created by the river that runs through it and is home to two ASLF Host businesses.
The Von Trapp Farmstead has been regeneratively farming since 1959 and creating four distinct farmstead organic cow cheeses from their grass fed herd since 2009. They farm with the philosophy of re-localizing the food system and also offer local, affordable, pasture raised meat to their community. Apprentice time with VTF will include an immersion in regenerative livestock practices, cheesemaking, and the interconnectedness of local and ethical food producers. Music to our ears!
In 2016, the team of Mad River Taste Place had a vision to create a single destination that showcases and celebrates the best food and beverages in the Mad River Valley and across Vermont. MRTP sells local cheese and meats, local craft beers, wines and ciders, maple syrup, pantry items, and artisan made home goods. Apprenticeship time at MRTP would include a look behind the scenes at their thoughtful sourcing and hospitality as they keep up with the day-to-day operations of a small business!
Sky High Farm
Ancramdale, NY
Sky High Farm, located in Ancramdale, NY, works to ensure that everyone has access to the resources they need to sustain themselves, including high-quality, culturally appropriate food. Since 2012, they have committed to regenerative farming practices and an environmentally holistic, equity-focused approach to promoting food sovereignty. This includes support for burgeoning farmers through formal training and mentoring; grants to catalyze a more equitable and community-centered food system; and food access partnerships - 100% of food produced on-site is donated to community partners in their collective effort to achieve long-term solutions to food insecurity.
An Apprentice at Sky High Farm will receive comprehensive experience in no-till garden management, propagation, and vegetable washing and packing, as well as experience in livestock management, animal husbandry, and food processing.
Good Shepherd Ranch
Lindsborg, KS
Frank Reese, now in his 70s, is the last remaining breeder of certified Standardbred poultry for commercial food production in the United States. If we do not preserve his legacy, these birds will disappear. His farm is a living museum of the oldest strains of poultry left in the world. His working farm is also home to the Good Shepherd Conservancy, an agri-tourism destination of the first order, boasting a hatchery, museum on the history of fast food, and soon to be built professional kitchen.
Apprentice experiences will include choosing the right birds and breeds; how to select top quality breeders; how to collect, clean, and store eggs; how to incubate and hatch eggs; how to control for predators; managing and controlling pathogens; how to catch and transport birds humanely; how to slaughter and process your own birds; record-keeping and production management.
Consider Bardwell Farm
West Pawlet, VT
Consider Bardwell Farm is a vertically-oriented operation, from the casting of seed on the land to the sale of cheese at market. Their mission is to produce world class cheese in a sustainable and environmentally responsible manner. In order to meet their sustainability aims, they focus on the following areas of action — community, conservation, and farmland.
An Apprentice would work at the farm and creamery, get to visit other creameries in Vermont, as well as experience other cultural activities in New England during their stay. They have been hosting students from L’Ecole Agriculture d’Angers in France for the past 10 years who got to see first hand the process of making Pawlet, Rupert, and Dorset Minis among other cheeses.
Paradise Locker Meats
Trimble, MO
Paradise Locker Meats exists to support and serve patrons and families in a sustainable manner by processing meats from small family farms; building awareness of local, natural food; and providing quality, wholesome products with dedication, integrity and honesty!
An Apprenticeship at Paradise Locker would include learning about livestock nose-to-tail including understanding every cut of the pig, cow, lamb, and goat through observation of processing and cutting by the Paradise team. Work would include a deep dive into value added products from the curehouse, where a myriad of hams and sausages are crafted, for their retail shop and for restaurants and markets across the country. Apprentices would also learn the nuts and bolts of the meat industry including USDA guidelines, food safety protocols, as well as all aspects of packaging and shipping. Time would also be spent visiting local farms to better understand the farm-to-table process.
Spring Brook Farm
Reading, VT
Spring Brook Farm — Spring Brook Farm is a traditional dairy farm located in Reading, Vermont. It covers 1000 acres and is home to 100 registered Jersey cows and a cheese operation focused on Alpine cheeses including Tarentaise and Reading. They also operate the Farms for City Kids Foundation, an outdoor agrarian classroom for kids from urban centers.
An Apprenticeship at Spring Brook Farm would include learning the art of cheesemaking in the French Alpine style to flow the milk, add culture and rennet, cut the curd, cook the curd, drain the vat, press and turn and brine the cheese, as well as aging it.
Meadow Creek Dairy
Galax, VA
Meadow Creek Dairy is a seasonal grazing dairy producing award-winning raw milk artisanal cheeses in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. For over a quarter-century they have worked to create rich mountain pastures, the sturdy, healthy cattle that would thrive on them, and finally the cheeses that would complement both. Over the years they've grown to be a community rather than simply a workplace.
Apprentices would work side-by-side with their experienced staff in their aging facilities, learning the fundamentals of making and aging cheese with seasonal raw milk. Grayson, Appalachian, and Mountaineer: each of their three signature cheeses has its own original recipe and its own specialized make process; their seasonal raw milk means no two makes are the same.
Our Core
Newburgh, NY
Our Core is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving marginalized youth in Newburgh, New York. Their mission is to empower marginalized young people to uplift themselves and others through experiential and academic education. Our Core’s AgriCultural Education program prioritizes skills-based education over production, with a focus on putting the tools to build food and land sovereignty back in the hands of youth.
Our Core’s growing spaces are cultivated throughout the city of Newburgh and include four small garden beds, a one acre plot being developed as a youth-led urban farm, four elementary school sites, and a plot at the Boys And Girl’s Club.
An Apprentice at Our Core will work in small-scale vegetable cultivation with some time working with fruit trees and bushes, flowers, mushrooms, and beekeeping. There will be active engagement in food access and food justice work with some opportunity to engage in agriculture-related political advocacy. They may also have the option to work with Common Ground Farm at the Newburgh Farmers Market, and the youth-led pop up market at the Newburgh public library one day a week.
Brooklyn Grange
New York, NY
Founded in 2010, Brooklyn Grange is the leading rooftop farming and intensive green roofing business in the US, operating the world’s largest rooftop soil farms, located in New York City. Brooklyn Grange promotes sustainable urban living by building green spaces, hosting educational programming and events, and widening access to locally grown produce in New York City communities.
Their rooftops total 5.6 acres and produce over 100,000 pounds of organically-grown crops per year. The farm distributes its produce at markets, through retailers and through a Sliding Scale CSA program. Through their Equitable Food Distribution Program, Brooklyn Grange works with community-based organizations to send 30-40% of their produce to community members at no cost.
An Apprenticeship at the Brooklyn Grange would include working with the Brooklyn Grange team to experience the ins and outs of outdoor rooftop vegetable production, which may include planting, crop maintenance, harvesting, weed control, distribution, and soil management. Depending on the Apprentice's interest, additional experience may be available within the business' Programming & Events and Design/Build departments.
Big Picture Farm
Townshend, VT
Big Picture Farm is a small hillside goat dairy and farmstead confectionery and creamery located in southern Vermont. Their award-winning goat milk caramels and farmstead cheeses are made with fresh, raw, creamy goat’s milk from their herd of 40 healthy and happy, free-ranging goats. Their robust line of chocolates are sweetened with their bees honey in the winter months. They also produce very small amounts of aged goat cheese in the summer months. An Animal-Welfare-Approved farm, the health and happiness of the animals is the center around which their farm and farm products revolve.
Big Picture Farm rotationally pastures their herd on 88 acres from May-November, using solar-electric fences to move the goats twice every day to ensure fresh, delicious, and diverse forage. They are fed only organic pasture, and supplemented exclusively with GMO-free and organic whole grain, minerals, and alfalfa.
An apprenticeship with ASLF will include shadowing on milking of the goats and all chores including feeding pigs, chickens, cats, and dogs. Additionally an apprentice will help with the once a week cheese make, help work in the garden, and do odd jobs around the farm.
Queens County Farm Museum
Queens, NY — New Host Farm
Queens County Farm Museum is one of the longest continually farmed sites in New York State, dating back to 1697. A New York City Landmark and on the National Registry of Historic Places, it is NYC’s largest tract of farmland. The cultural nonprofit that preserves, interprets and manages the historic site was established in 1975. Last year, Queens Farm celebrated its 325th anniversary of continuous farming.
Queens Farm’s mission is to preserve, restore and interpret the site, its history and owner’s lifestyles. Through educational programs, events and museum services, Queens Farm educates the public as to the significance of Queens’ agricultural and horticultural past and showcases sustainable agricultural and horticultural practices. The 47-acre historic site has produced food and fed New Yorkers for over three centuries, growing a variety of nutritionally dense and culturally relevant produce, using sustainable and best farming practices.
An Apprentice at Queens County Farm Museum will learn all aspects of growing vegetables in an organic system, using a variety of methods. Jobs range from seeding and transplanting, to cultivating, harvesting, and selling produce at QCFM's farmstands. The apprentice will learn about sustainable, regenerative growing practices, such as cover cropping, crop rotation, fertility and pest management, and more. In addition, apprentices can participate in the care of farm animals, including feeding, rotations, and general farm maintenance chores.
Southside Community Farm
Asheville, NC — New Host Farm
Southside Community Farm (SCF) was founded in 2014 by community members as a way to bring healthy food to the historically Black Southside neighborhood struggling under the oppression of food apartheid. Our goals are to grow and distribute fresh fruits, herbs, and veggies for folks living in public housing while collaborating with and supporting other BIPOC farms, farmers, and businesses in the region. Our mission is to prioritize the needs of Black people and other community members of color and to celebrate diverse cultures and foodways through growing Black food sovereignty. We view food sovereignty as a means to Black liberation.
The farm was founded as “Southside Community Garden” in 2014 by neighborhood residents as a way to bring healthy food to Southside, because the neighborhood lacks access to grocery stories and healthy food options. The farm originally consisted exclusively of row crops but later evolved to also include a hoop house, raised beds, fruit trees, berry bushes, and a pavilion. SCF is entering its ninth growing season on Asheville Housing Authority property.
An Apprentice might learn how to milk goats using inflations; how and when to feed goats; the basics of sanitation (i.e. how to make cheese safely); the basics of milk chemistry (i.e. what is milk); how to culture and coagulate milk to make cheese; how to "hoop" curds into cheese-forms; how to salt cheese; how to care for cheese (affinage).
In addition, an apprentice will learn small scale vegetable production, orchard and perennial fruit care, herbal medicine making, basic food preservation (drying, canning), outdoor youth education, local free food distribution, and how to run a farmers market.
New Leaf Agriculture
Elgin, TX — New Host Farm
New Leaf Agriculture trains and employs refugee farmers from traditional farming cultures in dignified work that reconnects them to farming in their new communities.
New Leaf Agriculture is located in Elgin Texas and is part of a large tract of land in the Wilbarger Creek Conservation Alliance. This alliance works with farmers, ranchers, landowners, land trusts, and various sources of public and private funding to prevent fragmentation of family farms and ranches. We are located 30 minutes North East of downtown Austin, Texas also known as the live music capitol!
An Apprentice might learn how to milk goats using inflations; how and when to feed goats; the basics of sanitation (i.e. how to make cheese safely); the basics of milk chemistry (i.e. what is milk); how to culture and coagulate milk to make cheese; how to "hoop" curds into cheese-forms; how to salt cheese; how to care for cheese (affinage).
Firefly Farms
Accident, MD — New Host Farm
We produce our entire line of goat and cow milk cheeses by hand – using apprenticed cheese makers, not machines. Our cheeses are scooped, turned, salted, washed, and brushed by hand. Why? Partly because we think it tastes better that way. And partly because it’s good for our community. In our part of the country, the northern Appalachian Mountains, jobs, particularly head-of-household wage earning jobs, have become scarce. We are committed to creating jobs with benefits and training: what’s good for us is also good for our neighbors.
The goal for the apprentice cheesemaker is to graduate to assistant cheesemaker. During the apprenticeship period the apprentice will work in the plant directly supervised by a head cheesemaker. They will be exposed to all aspects of the business, from milk receiving to production, and aging to packaging and order fulfillment. The apprentice is expected to follow specific instructions given and learn all that they can by observation and inquiry. The apprentice will be given simple tasks and instructions daily and should learn them without direct supervision after one or two repetitions.
Real Food Farm
Baltimore, MD — New Host Farm
Real Food Farm works toward a just and sustainable food system by improving neighborhood access to healthy food, providing experience-based education, and developing an economically viable, environmentally responsible local agriculture sector.
The farm primarily grows produce in permanent raised beds, both outdoors and in hoophouses for our CSA, a local farmers market, and for donation. The majority of the work would be cultivating, weeding, and harvesting these crops. There are also two small orchards on the property as well as a hoophouse designed for educational purposes. While the apprentice would primarily work in the hoop houses and outdoor fields, as well as assist in the processing and packaging of produce for our CSA, they may also be asked to help in the set up and facilitation of educational programming on the farm, but would not actually teach lessons or run activity stations during field trips.
Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden
Staten Island, NY — New Host Farm
The Snug Harbor Heritage Farm is a 2.5-acre production farm that uses sustainable, low-till farming practices that focus on building soil health through the use of compost, crop rotation, intercropping, cover cropping, and other indigenous growing practices. Our goal is to provide Staten Island and NYC access to fresh and local produce for years to come by expanding our crop diversity to be culturally relevant and with a focus on education, volunteership, and internships. We are aiming to support a more equitable food system within our greater community through the lens of small-scale agriculture.
Apprentices will be working in the peak of the season helping us to harvest, wash, and pack produce for our market and CSA customers. They will help maintain crop health through IMP, hand cultivation, and compost processing. They will work alongside staff, summer interns and volunteers. There may be opportunities to work at the markets if apprentices are interested.
Florence Fang Community Farm
San Francisco, CA — New Host Farm
Florence Fang Community Farm is San Francisco’s largest community farm and only USDA registered farm. FFCF is located in a food desert in the underserved Bayview neighborhood. FFCF is based on principles of diversity and the progression of ethnic foodways. FFCF brings different generations together with Black, Latinx and Chinese immigrant farmers who share their food traditions with the community. FFCF teaches individuals and families to grow, cook, eat and live healthier, working to develop a hyper local food system in the Bayview.
An Apprentice might learn how to grow plants, how to make compost, how to harvest fruits and vegetables, how to interact with elderly Asian farmers with body language and hand gestures, how to make a trellis for tomatoes and beans, how to use fertilizer, the difference between organic farming and inorganic farming, how to take initiative, and how to track what is grown on the farm.
Red Hook Farms
Brooklyn, NY — New Host Farm
Red Hook Farms is a youth-centered urban farming and food justice program in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Formerly known as Added Value, we became a project of Red Hook Initiative in November 2018. We create opportunities for teens to expand their knowledge base, develop their leadership skills, and positively engage with each other, their community, and the environment. We operate two urban farm sites, and our programs include a teen farm apprenticeship, three weekly farm stands, a CSA, and a school workshop program. Since 2001, we have strived to transform vacant lands into vibrant urban farms, improve access to healthy, affordable produce, and nurture a new generation of green leaders.
Red Hook Farms is apart of the Red Hook Initiative, a community-based nonprofit serving over 5,000 Red Hook NYCHA residents annually through a model of youth development, community building, and community hiring. Now in our 17th year, Red Hook Iniative is proud to welcome Red Hook Farms to their community.
Ohio City Farm
Cleveland, OH — New Host Farm
As one of the largest and most productive urban farms in the nation, Ohio City Farm welcomes thousands of visitors each year and stands as a successful model for mission driven businesses.
Ohio City Farm is powered by The Refugee Response and is located in the historic Ohio City Neighborhood in the near West Side of Cleveland, Ohio.
As an initiative of TRR, Ohio City Farm nourishes the community with local food and empowers resettled refugees in Northeast Ohio by providing them with employment and training.
An Apprentice will be involved with all aspects of the operation — from field work such as harvesting and planting, to packing product for the consumer and working weekend markets.
Villa Villekulla Farm
Barnard, VT — New Host Farm
Villa Villekulla Farm takes its name and inspiration from the ramshackle home of the original flame-haired independent spirit, Pippi Longstocking. As such, it is a one-woman operation founded by Lauren Gitlin and her retinue of ruminant colleagues that seeks to embody playfulness, whimsy and superhuman strength in crafting wildly delicious goat milk based dairy products.
For the Apprentice, the work is focused chiefly on herd health, followed by milking, dairy processing and pasture work. Learning how to handle the goats, how to observe and care for them is of the utmost importance and creates a foundation for everything else that we do. This coming season is one of transition and will usher in the development and fabrication of a new product, as well as silvopasture development. We will attempt to cater the curriculum to the Apprentice’s specific interests.
Star Route Farm
Charlotteville, NY — New Host Farm
As a farm with a social justice mission, Star Route seeks to begin addressing systemic food inequities by farming with integrity and responsibility to both land and people in order to grow nutritious food, so that we can distribute free produce to those who are food insecure all the while, collaborating with the communities we grow for to ensure we grow culturally relevant food.
This past 2022 growing season we have donated 17,583 pounds of nutrient-dense food from our four-acre fields; farmed alongside a majority BIPOC crew for the first time, grew black beans, garlic, and potatoes, on our new fields, held a beautiful mutual-aid retreat for 30 of our downstate partners to strengthen community, build new connections, and give our thanks.
An Apprentice will work on a variety of projects ranging from field work, harvesting, and packing, as well as dismantling and rebuilding greenhouses.
Love Is Love Cooperative Farm
Mansfield, GA — New Host Farm
We are a unique collective of first generation farmers: multigenerational, multi-ethnic, multi-racial, multi-class who believe that we are stronger working together to grow food, plants and flowers at scale for wholesale markets and direct to consumers. Our ownership structure is democratic and non-hierarchical. We build on the foundation of an existing certified organic farm business and are catalyzed and inspired by the work of many who have led the way before us, We are endeavoring to stand up a resilient, equitable, worker-owned cooperative farm providing produce, plants and flowers for our community with transparency and integrity while building a structure and system that will outlast us all and serve our local food system for generations to come.
An Apprentice might learn how to milk goats using inflations; how and when to feed goats; the basics of sanitation (i.e. how to make cheese safely); the basics of milk chemistry (i.e. what is milk); how to culture and coagulate milk to make cheese; how to "hoop" curds into cheese-forms; how to salt cheese; how to care for cheese (affinage). All aspects of organic vegetable and cut flower production: seeding, planting, irrigation, cultivation, harvest, post harvest, marketing; food safety 101; equipment maintenance and use; cooperative organization and principles; csa management and distribution.
Metro Atlanta Urban Farm
College Park, GA — New Host Farm
Metro Atlanta Urban Farm's mission is to reduce barriers to healthy living in urban and rural communities by promoting agriculture to eliminate food insecurity and by offering education and training in sustainable high-quality, low-cost agricultural production through farming and gardening that encourages individuals and communities to grow their own healthy food. .
The farm is situated in the City of College Park, GA, just 7 minutes from Hartsfield Jackson International Airport and 10 minutes from Downtown Atlanta, in the state of Georgia. Metro Atlanta Urban Farm (MAUF) is a five-acre certified naturally grown farm operation. The produce and fruit trees are grown free of synthetic chemicals, pesticides, insecticides, or herbicides.
An Apprentice might learn how to milk goats using inflations; how and when to feed goats; the basics of sanitation (i.e. how to make cheese safely); the basics of milk chemistry (i.e. what is milk); how to culture and coagulate milk to make cheese; how to "hoop" curds into cheese-forms; how to salt cheese; how to care for cheese (affinage). Metro Atlanta Urban Farm, a certified naturally grown urban farm operation, is a vegetable and fruit producing farm. The Apprentice will learn the techniques of preparing the soil, planting, caring for, and harvesting fruits and vegetables. They will also engage in working with marginalized and underserved communities as it relates to community gardening and other issues that impact poor and disadvantaged communities. There will be school visits, community meetings, and opportunities to work with colleges and universities.
Harlem Grown
New York, NY — New Host Farm
In the heart of Harlem, Harlem Grown is planting fruits and vegetables and growing healthy children and sustainable communities. Their mission is to inspire youth to lead healthy and ambitious lives through mentorship and hands-on education in urban farming, sustainability, and nutrition.
An Apprentice would work on all aspects of urban farming — seeding, transplanting, pest control, soil augmentation, composting, harvesting, chicken care, and bee care on both soil farms and hydroponic greenhouses.
Ice House Farm
Goshen, VT
We are goat farming in the hills of Goshen, Vermont. Ice House Farm was started by Morgan and Chad Beckwith in 2016 with the goal of producing healthy delicious goat milk.
We began our adventure on rented farmland in Addison Vermont. The 18th century farmhouse property featured panoramic views, large dairy barns with slate roofs, and the original ice house. Working with the land and goats, the soil slowly started to get into our veins and bones. This is where we developed our passion for farming and producing healthy nutrient-dense food. We moved to Goshen in the fall of 2016 to expand our pasture raised goat herd and farm.
Our priority is herd health, so an Apprentice would help with tending and feeding baby goats, moving fencing for daily grazing, milking and general chores around the farm. There is also potential for helping with the production side as well as packing and shipping.
Deep Rooted Organics
Westby, WI — New Host Farm
Deep Rooted Organics is a Certified Organic farm, supplying the greater La Crosse area with fresh, local, organic tomatoes and produce. They are dedicated to their community, and environment and use their resources for the betterment of both. Tomatoes, grown for flavor and beauty are their specialty, and they have a festival, Tasty Tomato Festival, to celebrate Labor Day weekend. They also offer a variety of organic produce and vegetable transplants, bedding plants, perennials, landscaping services, cut flowers, and workshops.
An Apprentice will learn about growing indeterminate tomatoes (over 40 varieties!) the basics of how to trellis and maintain the vines. The Apprentice will also help harvest and pack for wholesale and restaurant customers. When not working with tomatoes they will help with other on the farm tasks including planting, weeding and harvesting other crops including cut flowers.
Catskill Wagyu at Hilltop Farm
Accord, NY — New Host Farm
Catskill Wagyu at Hilltop Farm is a small family farm in New York's Hudson Valley. They use sustainable farming practices to work as they raise pastured Wagyu beef. Every one of their 50 cows were bred, born and raised on Hilltop Farm. They maintain a group of 6 dairy cows, a connection to Barton's history as a lifelong dairy farmer. These are the animals who will provide milk for their "in progress" creamery, where they plan to sell raw milk, and Becky's pasteurized fresh and raw aged cheeses. The home farm comprises 56 acres, including the farmhouse and barns Barton built himself starting at the age of 18. Leased neighborhood acreage combined with the home farm grows the grass hay they feed their cows exclusively.
An Apprentice at Hilltop Farm will participate in every step of raising a Wagyu beef steer: learning about artificial insemination, assisting with calving season, caring for newborn calves, making hay for feed, learning manure management and soil health, daily feeding and general animal care, loading and delivering steers to harvest, collecting meat from the butcher, and marketing and selling the meat to customers in the farm store. Additionally, interns will have the opportunity to learn how to milk and care for dairy cows as they participate in building out the creamery, as well as make small-batch farmstead cheeses.
Radicle Apple
Saxton River, VT
This part of Vermont was traditionally pasture land for sheep and cows. An orchard was planted on the land that is Radicle Apple in the early 1900s and purchased by the family of the current stewards in 1961 shortly after they purchased the farm buildings to use as a respite from city life. Since then, the orchards have expanded and contracted. They have been tended by lifelong farmers as well as myriad weekend visitors who came from New York City to refill their bellies with farm bounty and refuel their souls by the labor they offered. After 2000, when the price of apples fell to a historical low, the business could not survive and most of the orchards were abandoned or cut down to stumps. The remaining orchards continued operation while struggling with the plight of small farmers everywhere—never having the scale to thrive or the budget to grow. Twenty years later, the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the original purchasers began to reimagine the land and, with a renewed sense of commitment, created Radicle Apple.
An Apprentice will receive a thorough introduction to orchard ecology and the sustainable practice of growing fruit. They will learn the basics of pruning and grafting (these are usually done during the winter). There will be blueberry picking and orchard maintenance; string trimming, learning how to train and take care of young trees as well as trapping and monitoring insect populations. Mid August would be the start of the harvest season and lessons in how to do that safely and efficiently. Should the Apprenticeship go into September, they would be picking apples and packing them for the foodbank just about every day.
Urban Growers Collective
Chicago, IL — New Host Farm
Urban Growers Collective is a Black- and women-led non-profit farm in Chicago, Illinois working to build a more just and equitable local food system. They aim to address the inequities and structural racism that exist in the food system and in communities of color. Rooted in growing food, their mission is to cultivate nourishing environments which support health, economic development, healing, and creativity through urban agriculture.
Their team cultivates eight urban farms on 11 acres of land, predominantly located on Chicago’s South Side. These farms are production-oriented but also offer opportunities for staff-led education, training, and leadership development. Their produce is available at farmers’ markets, in their Collective Supported Agriculture program, and at the Fresh Moves Mobile Market.
Urban Growers Collective seeks a passionate, hard working, community-driven individual for an Apprenticeship to learn all aspects of planting, production, harvesting, compost, and site maintenance for an urban farm. All Apprenticeships take place over a 8-10-week period, and include opportunities to create individualized learning objectives. The farm activities which apprentices will have the chance to learn a variety of tasks from crop care to harvest to building maintenance.