Farm Appr – Program Support – Chewonki farm

Last Updated On: November 1st, 2023 at 01:20PM MST

Contact information

Farm Address:
485 Chewonki Neck Road
Wiscasset, Maine, 04578

Primary Contact: Jeremy Aines
Primary Phone:
    Type: Office
    Number: N/A
    Email: jaines@chewonki.org

Website: https://www.chewonki.org

Internship information

General Farm Description: THE CHEWONKI FARM The Chewonki Farm, on Chewonki’s Wiscasset property, is a small and diversified saltmarsh farm; its primary goal is to educate program participants while producing food, firewood, and fiber for our campus community. There are approximately 26 acres of open land; one acre is cultivated for vegetable gardens, and 25 acres are pasture and hay fields. The managed woodlot is approximately 150 acres. We raise livestock for meat, eggs, and fiber. The farm keeps a small herd of beef cows and a flock breeding ewes that produces lambs for meat each spring. We raise around 200 laying hens, free-ranging most of the year. Up to three hundred broilers and 15 turkeys are pasture-pen raised in the late summer/fall. Two batches of two to eight pigs are raised annually for meat. Two draft horses provide much of the power for the farm operation including plowing and garden cultivation; hay cutting, tedding, and raking; winter logging and wood hauling; and a wide variety of other tasks. We are always looking for ways to expand our knowledge and to effectively and safely utilize draft horsepower. Whenever possible, horsepower is emphasized as a sustainable and rewarding method of accomplishing valuable labor. We also have a tractor that we use primarily for moving material, turning compost, cutting hay, and clipping pasture. As mentioned above, we use two horses to log in the winter months. With the help of a professional forester and the Chewonki community, the farm is responsible for managing 150 acres of woodlot. We harvest about 20 to 30 cords of firewood annually. The majority of the work is timber stand improvement and firewood production, and may include maintaining and improving woodlot roads, tree pruning, felling, limbing, slash management, and limited production of sawlogs and pulpwood. We cut three to five acres of our own hay with a sickle bar mower and bring it in loose. We buy in the remainder of our hay in bales from a local farmer. The farm crew, in cooperation with the Facilities staff, maintains the majority of the farm buildings, grounds, and machinery. Education is central to Chewonki’s mission statement and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) statement: any individual that works on the farm must consider themselves a teacher as well as a farmer. Because our working farm is the context for our education rather than a traditional classroom setting, the farm crew needs to be comfortable and adept with teaching as they work alongside students and program staff. Education about farm and food systems happens both formally and informally at Chewonki and may be grounded in a work experience, a classroom experience, and/or a food preparation and dining experience. Our primary approach to education on the farm is to integrate young people into meaningful production systems. Additionally, we articulate the “why” behind our systems and build context for how our approach to work and land management fits into the broader scope of farm and food systems nationally and globally. Because the farm acts as a support department to all Chewonki programs, farmers work with young people ages 7 to 18, creating developmentally appropriate and program-specific farm intersections that complement and further a participant’s broader Chewonki experience.

CRAFT Member Farm? No

Internship Starts: N/A
Internship Ends: N/A
Number of Internship Available: 1
Application Deadline: Rolling
Minimum Length of Stay: N/A

Internship Details:

Position Title: Farm Apprentice/Residential Program Support

Employment Category: Category F

Permanent/Temporary: Temporary – 12- to 18-month position

Reports to: Farm and Woodlot Manager

Exempt/Non-Exempt: Exempt

Schedule (hours and weeks): Full-time

Location (on campus/hybrid/remote): On Campus

Benefits Eligible: Yes

 

Farm Activities and Responsibilities throughout the annual cycle:

Farmers are expected to be present for morning chores beginning around 6:00 am (season dependent) through afternoon chores beginning at approximately 4:00 pm. Chores to care for livestock are done at the beginning and end of every day throughout the year. Generally, our workday is between nine to ten hours daily, five days a week, and can be more during certain seasons. Chore weekend responsibilities alternate with “off” weekends.

There is a seasonal flow to work on the Chewonki farm, though there is less of an “off” season than on some market farms. An overview of the whole year is given below.

• February – March: Maine Coast Semester, and Waypoint in session, work program, focus on firewood and woodlot work, early hoop house growing, seed starting
• April – May: Maine Coast Semester, Waypoint, and Outdoor Classroom in session, work program, seed starting, garden plowing/cultivating/planting, pasture rotation, mowing, fence maintenance, lambing
• June-August: Camp Chewonki in session, Camp Farm Activity support, intensive garden and pasture work, haying, harvesting for kitchen an Packout
• September –December: Maine Coast Semester, Waypoint, and Outdoor Classroom in session, work program, harvesting and storing crops, cover cropping, manure spreading, machinery repair and winterizing, livestock to slaughter, begin wood season preparations, infrastructure management
• Late December – January: Maine Coast Semester and Outdoor Classroom on break, farm crew takes approximately three weeks of downtime doing only chores and necessary tasks.  Starting in late January, the farm crew prepares for the Semester and actively manages the woodlot for firewood production.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The salary for this position is $400 weekly. The Farm Apprentice is eligible for health insurance in accordance with the Affordable Care Act. Benefits include: health insurance, life insurance, dental insurance, optional vision insurance, long-term disability, 403(b) retirement plan, paid time off, and access to professional development funds. Some year-round farm crew members live on campus or in Wiscasset within the residential learning community; some farm crew members live off campus. This is a residential position; housing is provided on campus. While most position responsibilities are similar for residential and non-residential crew members, residential farm crew members sometimes have additional evening or overnight responsibilities and are the first to respond in an on-farm emergency.

PREREQUISITES

• Must complete fingerprinting requirements/pass criminal background check with the Maine Department of Education
• Driver’s license approved by Chewonki’s insurance carrier
• The Chewonki Foundation requires that 100% of staff are vaccinated against COVID-19, as allowed for by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Proof of completed COVID-19 vaccination will be required upon acceptance of a job offer.

REQUISITES

• Attend Chewonki driver training
• Attend required onboarding and training sessions

QUALIFICATIONS

Required Skills/Experience/Abilities of the Farm Apprentice:

• Interest in education-based, diversified farming
• Ability to work collaboratively and effectively with different kinds of people
• Willingness to learn to use draft horsepower on a diversified farm
• Willingness to learn to operate a tractor and chainsaw
• Ability to lift at least 50 pounds
• Ability to communicate well verbally and in writing
• Ability to oversee a work crew, as well as manage projects collaboratively
• Ability to live and work in a small community

Educational Opportunities: Yes.

Skills Desired: See job description

Meals: Yes. See job description

Stipend: Yes. See job description

Housing: Yes. See job description

Preferred method of Contact: N/A