Regenerative Farm Apprentice – Rooster Dirt Farm

Last Updated On: enero 21st, 2025 at 02:39PM MST

Contact information

Farm Address:
1451 Buchanan Trail
McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania, 17233

Primary Contact: Logan Peck
Primary Phone:
    Type: Cell
    Number: 7178601568
    Email: lfpeck@gmail.com

Website: https://roosterdirtfarm.com/pages/work-opportunities

Internship information

General Farm Description: We are a grass roots farm humanely raising the highest quality, pasture raised meat, eggs and mushrooms in the Appalachian mountains of PA.

CRAFT Member Farm? No

Internship Starts: 3/31/2025
Internship Ends: 10/27/2025
Number of Internship Available: 1
Application Deadline: 3/05/2025
Minimum Length of Stay: Whatever works for you

Internship Details:

Regenerative Agriculture Apprentice

We are excited to finally offer an apprenticeship program. We are at the point in our farming journey that we feel confident in teaching others and sharing our experiences. The goal of our apprenticeship is to impart the knowledge and know how so that whoever completes our program will be able to leave and start their own farm from scratch with the best chance of being successful. We intend on sharing the economics and financials of farming all the way through production, harvest and marketing. We are a very diverse regenerative farm that tries to recreate as many natural processes as possible while also keeping in mind the economic reality of needing to make money. Through our apprenticeship, you can expect to learn about the following and more that I’m sure is escaping me at the moment:

• Pasture raised laying hens integrated with cattle grazing
• Pasture raised meat chicken production
• Grass fed raw milk dairy (we only do this for ourselves and do not sell milk or dairy products but have about 5 mini jerseys)
• Grass fed beef cattle using intensive rotational grazing
• Pasture and mountain raised mangalitsa pigs and the infrastructure involved in raising them
• Selective breeding pigs and raising your own stock for both breeding and feeder pigs
• Establishing and maintaining alley crop systems using berries and fruit & nut trees while still maintaining pasture
• Transforming scrub woods into Savannah like environments to graze cattle and pigs.
• Cultivating mushrooms and setting up the proper fruiting environment
• Making compost using chickens
• Basic vegetable production
• Marketing direct to consumer via farmers markets and online channels
• Maintaining a Shopify website and shipping frozen meat
• Acquiring new customers via traditional and advanced methods
• Building farm infrastructure and putting in water systems
• How to keep financial records, manage cash flow and depreciate infrastructure costs.

Apprentices would work closely with myself, Logan, on day to day tasks such as weeding, moving fences & animals, harvesting, washing eggs, packing, catching animals, doing tractor work, occasional dirty work such as shoveling manure and other random farm tasks. Apprentices will also be expected to be able to work alone and assume responsibility for these tasks on some occasions. Being self motivated, driven, RELIABLE, responsible, willing to learn, friendly, and having persistence is a must for this apprenticeship. It is hard work but what makes it great is we are never on one task for very long. There is variety from day to day.

The apprentice also must be willing to drive 1.5 hours each way, one or two Saturdays and Sundays a month to run the farmers market stand alone. A vehicle will be provided but you must have a drivers license.

As for compensation, this is what I am thinking but I am open to negotiation based on your needs & circumstances. I can provide housing that is about a 600 square foot house located a 5 minute drive from the farm. Compensation would also include access to any food that we produce on the farm. The house does have a full kitchen. Monetary compensation may be considered for any extra work that is deemed outside of regular apprenticeship work. I want this to work for both sides.

I can promise you will learn a lot and no two days will be the same on the farm! We live in a beautiful small part of Pennsylvania with tons of outdoor activities and natural beauty within minutes of the farm. We are 2 minutes outside a small town will most amenities you will need. If you are reading this and think you’d be a good fit, I’d love to meet you and have you come farm with me!

P.S. We have two dogs and two small children running around the farm as well.

Another internship opportunity — Veggie Grower

We are also looking for someone that has the knowledge of growing veggies on a market scale to start a veggie operation on our farm. We have the compost, water systems, land, and market for veggies, I just don’t have the time to grow them. The farmers market we go to on Sundays is looking for a veggie vendor for 2025, so the market is already there. Whoever fills this position could keep 100% of the profits in exchange for 1.5-2 days of help on the rest of the farm and veggies for our family of 3. Housing & food trades can be negotiated as well. Experience growing vegetables in the past is a must. We will ask for references.

Another internship opportunity – Chef / Farmer

This position is reserved for a one of a kind fit. We have a PA Dept of Ag approved food truck called “The Fulton Farmer” that we started two years ago. However, due to no time, we only ran it two days in 2024. I am looking for a self motivated chef that is passionate about local food, and also wants to learn about / help on the farm. You would be responsible for making the menu from what is fresh on the farm. You will have to be a self starter and be able to self manage yourself. You will essentially be managing the food truck and can leverage me as help in the Food Truck on events that aren’t during Farmer’s Markets on the weekends. A Serve Safe Certification is a must as well as a valid drivers license. Compensation will be some sort of profit sharing which we can negotiate if we decide we are a good fit for each other.

Educational Opportunities: Through this experience my goal is you will leave with the skills and know how to go start your own farm. Here are just some of the skills you can expect to learn: Pasture raised laying hens integrated with cattle grazing Pasture raised meat chicken production Grass fed raw milk dairy (we only do this for ourselves and do not sell milk or dairy products but have about 5 mini jerseys) Grass fed beef cattle using intensive rotational grazing Pasture and mountain raised mangalitsa pigs and the infrastructure involved in raising them Selective breeding pigs and raising your own stock for both breeding and feeder pigs Establishing and maintaining alley crop systems using berries and fruit & nut trees while still maintaining pasture Transforming scrub woods into Savannah like environments to graze cattle and pigs. Cultivating mushrooms and setting up the proper fruiting environment Making compost using chickens Basic vegetable production Marketing direct to consumer via farmers markets and online channels Maintaining a Shopify website and shipping frozen meat Acquiring new customers via traditional and advanced methods Building farm infrastructure and putting in water systems How to keep financial records, manage cash flow and depreciate infrastructure costs.

Skills Desired: Self starter, easy to pickup on things, can work well alone or with another person, have a valid drivers license and be willing to work 1-2 weekends a month driving to farmers markets, experience with tractors and skid steers a plus, able to work in various weather conditions, good attitude

Meals: Lunch can be provided and you can also take meat, milk, mushrooms, veggies, fruit and any other farm product you want for your own meals!

Stipend: Yes there will be a stipend but it will depending on the housing & individual arrangements. I am very flexible and we can work something out if you are interested.

Housing: There is an option to have a house 5 minutes from the farm.

Preferred method of Contact: Text/Call