Turnip Rock and the Cosmic Wheel Creamery

Last Updated On: febrero 4th, 2021 at 03:50PM MST

Contact information

Farm Address:
260 95th St.
Clear Lake, Wisconsin, 54005

Primary Contact: Josh Bryceson
Secondary Contact: Rama Hoffpauir

Primary Phone:
    Type: Cell
    Number: 715-268-9311
    Email: turniprock@gmail.com

Website: http://www.turniprock.com/new-page-2

Internship information

General Farm Description: 80 acre farm 4 miles south of Amery WI. We are about 60 miles to the Minneapolis/ St. Paul area. Our main focus is our 4 acres in low till, intensive vegetable production. We use hand methods for tilling, planting, and harvest. We sell to 180 member 'whole diet' CSA, some wholesale and Farmers market. We also have a 20 cow milking herd where we use alternative dairy practices - milking once per day, seasonal calving, using nurse cows for calf rearing, and 100% grass fed cows. All milk production goes to cheese-making on farm (Cosmic Wheel Creamery Farmstead Cheese). We raise 15-20 Hogs on pasture, fed whey from the creamery. Our farm family includes Josh and Rama and 2 school age kids and dogs and cats. We are striving to create a truly sustainable whole farm ecosystem.

CRAFT Member Farm? No

Internship Starts: March
Internship Ends: November
Number of Internship Available: 4
Application Deadline: July
Minimum Length of Stay: 3 months

Internship Details:

Work will primarily be in vegetable gardening, prepping beds, planting, weeding, harvesting, washing/packing veggies. Some livestock chores will be included in your daily routine: milking, moving portable fence, feeding pigs, moving cows. Larger livestock projects are possible some days, such as sorting/handling cattle, loading pigs, packing meat orders, wrapping cheese. Work week will be full time 40-50 hours Mon- Friday. Some Saturday markets and weekend animal chores are requested. We will be living and working together so we will be looking for people who are respectful and can get along in a shared living situation. Our farm is a friendly and safe work space. If you have ANY issues with accepting and being respectful of people who are gender-nonconforming, trans, LGBTQ+, people of color, or people of diverse nationalities or beliefs, please do not apply.
We are happy to say that of the people we have worked with, many have gone on to continue farming on their own or with others. We have had workers return for a second season with us each season since 2010 and we have kept in touch with almost every person we have ever worked with. We really enjoy sharing this work with others and the friendships that develop. You will need to bring work clothes, gloves, warm clothing, rubber boots, rain suit, bedding and a good attitude. If you don’t have a car, a bike is suggested. Farm bikes are available.

Educational Opportunities: We are offering primarily an employment opportunity, not a purely educational opportunity. That said, we have an extensive library of books about sustainability, agriculture, and many other topics that you are free to utilize. We try to be available to answer questions and discuss ideas. We will be doing field walks, and we try to keep you informed about why we are doing the tasks we are doing. Visits to the other area farms for inspiration and educational opportunities are available. We live in a close knit community where it will be easy to see other operations. If you are motivated to learn and ask questions, the sky is the limit. We will answer any questions you have, and cover many areas as we weed, plant, and work. Sometimes you may not realize you are learning. But if you learn by observation, by doing, and are self motivated to learn, you will gain a lot from working with us! First year is learning how to use your body and observe the season as it goes, and if a person is willing to commit to multiple years we can spend more time learning the 'back end' of farming; financial, mechanical, theoretical.

Skills Desired: No previous experience is required. We are looking for people who are motivated and genuinely interested in learning and doing farm work. It is hard work! It involves being active in extreme types of weather from very cold and rainy to very hot and humid to windy to perfectly clear beautiful sky days! This work is challenging, but very rewarding and enjoyable at the same time. Having started as an intern and worked on many different kinds of farms, we understand how new and hard the work may be. We will try to teach you as much as we can during the growing season. But first things first, we are professional farmers and that requires people who are dedicated to making things happen and looking forward to each new day. You must be able to lift at least 50 lbs and tolerate heat, cold, and tedious/repetitive work. Activities will vary throughout the growing season. Greenhouse work April-June, and weeding, harvesting and packing boxes throughout the summer and into the fall. Some workers will drive deliveries into the cities. Farmers market work may be available if that is an interest to you. We are hiring 3 people for the entire season. You will have the opportunity to drive tractors, will be riding a transplanter, and working around various farm equipment, so mechanical aptitude is a plus, but not required.

Meals: All basic staples are provided. Lunch will be a shared meal that one person will cook for everyone, each person taking a day to cook. Dinner and breakfast will be on your own, but we will be working together to get everyone fed and you'll never go hungry. We LOVE food and we love to eat. And we eat well! We are omnivores but vegetarian friendly. Staples such as coffee, grains, bread, cooking ingredients will be provided. We will eat mostly what is grown on the farm including milk, farmstead cheese, meat, and veggies. $150 deducted for board

Stipend: 11$ hr. starting. Pay is negotiable for applicants with previous farming experience.

Housing: Living quarters will be in one of 3 cabins. There is a large commercial style communal kitchen in the farm house. Also a shared bathroom/shower and laundry in the house to be shared with other workers. Internet service is available on the farm. You will need to bring your own bedding if possible. $150 deducted for room

Preferred method of Contact: email