Coulter’s Good Earth Farm
Last Updated On: diciembre 4th, 2023 at 12:01PM MST
Contact information
Farm Address:8012 BLOOMFIELD RD
BLOOMFIELD, Kentucky, 40008
Primary Contact: Chris Coulter
Secondary Contact: Amy Coulter
Primary Phone:
Type: Cell
Number: 502-507-1828
Email: goodearthfarm@yahoo.com
Secondary Phone
Type: Cell
Number: 502-221-0172
Email:
Website: http://www.coulterfarm.com
Internship information
General Farm Description: Our 30-acre diversified, family farm is located in the heart of Bluegrass country, 40 miles south of Louisville and about 50 miles west of Lexington. Our farm is managed as a sustainable agroecosystem, with a wide diversity of crops and animals organized on permaculture principles. We are not organic, but try to use organic management practices as much as possible. We are primarily a fruit and vegetable farm but we also raise laying hens on pasture and grass-fed beef. Our produce is sold through our 50=person CSA that serves Jefferson and Nelson Counties as well as the St. Matthew's Farmer's Market. We are full-time farmers who have been growing for market since 2002, and have a wide-range of experience across many fields. See our website and Youtube channel for an overview of us and our farm.CRAFT Member Farm? No
Internship Starts: March 1, 2024, June 1, 2024
Internship Ends: May 31, 2024, August 31, 2024
Number of Internship Available: 1-2
Application Deadline: Decisions on interns are generally made by the middle of February
Minimum Length of Stay: 3 months
Internship Details:
Internships are available at our farm for the coming growing season. We offer one to two internships that run initially from around the first of March to the end of May (three months), with a possibility of an extension through the summer months. A summer (June to August) internship is also available.
These internships offer an opportunity to learn the hands on skills needed to operate a small-scale sustainable farm.
We are looking for hard-working students who have chosen some part of sustainable agriculture as a career choice, and who are willing to learn the practical, hands-on aspects of this type of farming.
Requirements:
Physically able to perform work required. Farming is hard work, most of it is done by hand. You need to be able to work for long hours in all weather conditions. Lifting, carrying, bending, and working with tools and animals are all normal tasks. Strength is not as important as endurance. Farming is a job-based, weather dependent, work, so flexibility and a love for being outside is a must.
Work at least 18-20 hours a week. The work schedule can be arranged to fit the schedule of students but needs to meet the work hours requirement. Most interns will do either three six- hour days a week, two nine -hour days, or some combination. Overnight housing is available for those who want to work consecutive days and save a drive. Working days are Monday through Saturday. Sunday is always an off day with no work scheduled.
Be able to commit to the full three-month internship. We realize that emergencies and unforeseen issues do come up, but we ask that you be willing to finish what you start.
We require an in-person farm visit or video chat for potential interns. There is no commitment either way, this just gives the intern the best opportunity to see what our farm is like and what to expect.
Must be 18 years old or older.
Be willing to complete a background check.
If you take advantage of your time as an intern you will at the very least leave with a good idea of whether or not this type of farming is for you! The most motivated interns will leave with a good reference and most of the knowledge and tools to be able to start planning their own farm business. This is a great learning opportunity worth the time alone, but we do provide a stipend of $150 a week to cover incidental costs.
Educational Opportunities: We are a full-time, working farm that has a great number of learning opportunities. We are teachers who like to teach. While the intern will have the opportunity to experience every aspect of the operation, they can choose to dig deeper into certain areas of interest. You’ll get a lot of hands-on experience with all parts of running a sustainable, and profitable, fruit, vegetable, and livestock farm. Opportunities that exist include: livestock husbandry (cattle, chickens, rabbits, pigs) and processing, greenhouse production of plants from seed to field, egg production/processing, high tunnel production, irrigation systems, composting, orchard care, pruning, and planting, small fruit production, cut-flower production, plant propagation and grafting, seed saving and commercial seed production, bees, vegetable production, harvesting, processing and packing of produce, tillage, weed/pest control, forestry, permaculture , and most likely other things we aren't thinking of. You can also learn to operate farm machinery safely as well as general construction and maintenance of systems all of which play a role on a sustainable farm. Maybe the most important thing you can learn is how to plan, manage, and market for a CSA program and a farmer's market. While the markets are in full swing during the summer internship period, we request that the spring intern take part in at least one market day to see the fruits of the labor that goes on before. We also have a Plant Sale in April that we like the intern to participate in. Spring internships are more focused on planning, preparing, and planting, while summer internships are more about harvesting, processing, and marketing.
Skills Desired: We prefer students with some agriculture experience, but are willing to consider those with less.
Meals: A share of the farm's produce is provided and some shared meals. You should be able to eat get a majority of your food from the farm.
Stipend: Yes
Housing: The preference is for an intern close enough to commute, with the potential to overnight occasionally on the farm. Housing may be available for female interns with a couple of different options.
Preferred method of Contact: Email