Educational Opportunities:
Farm Apprentices will receive experience and education in organic market gardening, "low-till" vegetable production, holistic orchard maintenance, berry production, integrated livestock management, rotational grazing, and direct marketing via farmers market. In addition to working the crop fields, the apprentices will be exposed to the daily chores pertaining to pastured poultry and a rotating herd of 20 heritage hogs. Our farm puts a particular emphasis on soil building & the development of sustainable ecosystems. The apprentices will experience the layering of cover crops, animals, and organic matter to produce ideal conditions for crop production. Food preservation & homesteading skills are accessible to those who have interest.

Skills Desired:
Farm skills and building skills are desired, but not required. What we do require is an unrelenting work ethic and a sense of humor! We are only interested in applicants who are passionate, physically energetic, reliable, and continually fascinated by each element that composes our farm's thriving ecosystem. This internship is best suited for individuals who aspire to farm commercially using aspects of our unique regenerative system.

Housing:
Simple on-farm housing in a 16 foot camper trailer is available to ONE apprentice. Higher stipends are given to the apprentice living off-farm to reflect their living costs. The camper trailer is small & basic (ideal for someone who yearns to "unplug" and live more sustainably). The set-up includes a composting toilet, hot water shower, kitchen, heat, AC, and basic internet. Surrounding area can be "created" to the individual's wildest desires with fire pits, gardens, hang-out & picnic areas, etc. We like creativity and encourage your personal touch!

Stipend:
Live-in Apprentice receives a stipend of $700 to $800 per month (depending on experience) plus education and a weekly share of veggies/eggs. The apprentice living off-farm receives a higher stipend, between $900 & $1000 per month to reflect their living costs, plus education, and a weekly share of veggies/eggs.

Meals:
Meals are not provided. Interns prepare their own meals. Interns receive a weekly share of the farm's bounty and have endless access to "seconds" produce during the high season.

Internship Starts: Mid March 2020
Internship Ends: Mid November 2020
App Deadline: Open until filled
Minimum Length of Stay: Full season commitment

HOW TO APPLY:
Please send a resume and cover letter to brooke@urbavorefarm.com. Please be personable in your cover letter and tell me WHY you want to bust your butt at URBAVORE!

I worked part-time in 2012 - URBAVORE's second year of production. Brooke and Dan conveyed their needs for operating the farm clearly, and demonstrated how to do everything asked of their workers. They are truly walking the walk. The most unusual thing about their operation is that it so clearly reveals Mother Nature's ability to regenerate and heal after neglect, if we choose to work with her. They have chosen to take the long view. The multiple years of continuous efforts of soil revival are paying off. Their knowledge in 2012 was substantial, and today, it is broader and deeper still. If my life would allow for it, I'd be a volunteer apprentice again at Urbavore in this perennial phase: partly to learn farming, partly for first-rate exercise and fresh air, partly to assist with the land stewardship being accomplished, and additionally for the tactile and spiritual connection to community and creation that it all affords.

- Jackie Palmer, Volunteer Apprentice, 2012

I could go on forever about my experience working at Urbavore and what all it meant to me. In the end, it was an experience that I’ll take with me to the grave. Brooke and Dan work themselves to the bone - their soil health and, thereby, crops show it. Much like the intensity of the four seasons here in the Midwest, you get that same intensity at Urbavore - from the land, from Brooke and Dan, from their farming techniques, from their steadfast dedication to soil and crop health.

Some days felt like a storm ripped through me, leaving me flooded, lifeless and that I couldn’t do anything right. Other days felt like the warmth and hope of Spring, as we all worked together moving across the land, tending to what they’ve painstakingly created. Brooke and Dan can work circles around anyone, even as they juggle children, apprentices, volunteers and the endless task list; it’s crazy. It was the hardest I’ve ever worked, in some of the toughest conditions, but the feeling of accomplishment after each weeded bed, each newly mulched plot, each perennial planting (those asparagus trenches!), and every harvest made it all worth it. I cannot overstate how hard the work can be, nor how much I learned from the experience.

- Sarah Dehart, Part-time Apprentice, 2013

During my experience at Urbavore, the combination of science, ingenuity, understanding nature's natural rhythms, and good old fashioned hard work, that Dan and Brooke used everyday, was amazing to see and be a part of. The work is not easy. It is labor intensive and sometimes the weather does not cooperate. However, the anticipation of walking over the hill to see the spinach leaves getting bigger, the beets sticking out of the ground a little farther, and the purple asparagus getting a little taller, never got old. I recommend the experience to anyone wanting to become an organic farmer or just learn about organic farming.

- Justin Dorsey, Casual Volunteer, 2015

I enjoyed my time on the farm immensely. Brooke and Dan are a wealth of knowledge and their openness to talk about their struggles, successes, goals and journey is a breath of fresh air. If you decide to apprentice with farmers Brooke and Dan remember that this is their livelihood and your actions and work directly effect them, so take pride in your work and how you can leave your mark on the farm.

- Joey Kaskowitz, Full-time Apprentice, 2015