Goat Dairy Internship – Growing Gardens
Last Updated On: December 9th, 2024 at 12:24PM MST
Contact information
Farm Address:1630 Hawthorn Avenue
Boulder, Colorado, 80304
Primary Contact: Katelyn Toppel
Primary Phone:
Type: Cell
Number: 3034439952
Email: katelyn@growinggardens.org
Website: https://www.growinggardens.org
Internship information
General Farm Description: Growing Gardens’ mission is to cultivate community through regenerative urban agriculture. Our programs empower people of all ages, income levels, and abilities by connecting them with their local food system, each other, and the environment. Our organization values the diverse skills and individuals that come together to create a thriving community and workplace. We are committed to the work we do, and bring our best selves each day, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously, have fun, and enjoy the process of doing good in our community. We take care of each other and put people at the center of everything we do.CRAFT Member Farm? No
Internship Starts: 3/3/2025
Internship Ends: 5/30/2025
Number of Internship Available: 1
Application Deadline: February 14th 2025
Minimum Length of Stay: 3 months
Internship Details:
Goat Dairy Internship
Spring Season 2025
March 3rd, 2025 – May 30th, 2025
Reports to: Goat Dairy Herd Manager
Job Status: Seasonal Intern, 15 hours per week
Compensation: $350 upon completion of internship, plus raw goats milk and cheese as supply allows. Qualifies for credit at the university level. ***If you are interested in working multiple consecutive dairy internships (e.g. Spring + Summer), we may be able to provide a higher stipend for the extended commitment.
Location: Boulder, CO
Goat Dairy Interns gain incredible hands-on experience working with our animals and land through a regenerative lens. We emphasize humane animal husbandry, raw milk production, rotational grazing, and community education. Goat Dairy Interns improve their skills with farming through training, practice, reflection, and feedback. Goat Dairy Interns spend most of their time directly involved with our animals, volunteers, and program participants learning and teaching about the goats and their role within our organization.
Spring Goat Dairy Internship Duties
The Dairy Intern will support the daily functions of the Growing Gardens’ Goat Dairy with an emphasis on animal husbandry, raw milk production, and rotational grazing. This internship is fast paced and requires hard work, focus, and care. The Dairy Intern will assist the Herd Manager with all aspects of dairy operations including but not limited to:
- Participate in a combination of morning and evening farm chores. This will include, but is not limited to: setting up electric fencing, moving livestock to and from different grazing locations on the property, ensuring all animals have adequate food and water, cleaning and preparation of barn/yard, restocking hay, trimming hooves
- Perform basic veterinary care including administration of vaccines and medicines, as well as observe procedures performed by our veterinarian such as disbudding.
- Assist with pre- and post-natal care and kidding, including but not limited to: monitoring pregnant does for signs of labor, hands-on assisting with labor and delivery, tending to newborn goat kids
- Bottle-feed goat kids
- Track daily herd health and rotational grazing
- Assist with various farm infrastructure projects
- Work closely with volunteers leading chore shifts
- Assist in various educational programs including bottle-feeding tours, field trips
- workshops, on-site and off-site events
- Learn about the milking process start to finish
- *Note: We will train anyone willing to participate in two or more of our seasonal dairy internships on milking the animals. For interns just at the dairy for a single season there will be a milking demonstration and lots of other great hands-on experience with the animals. If an intern is interested in participating for two seasons we can adjust the stipend amount to reflect a longer-term commitment.
- Intern will have the opportunity to work with our Growing team at least once a month, assisting with a variety of tasks such as weeding, planting, harvesting, and washing produce for the weekly farm stand
Knowledge and Skills the Intern Will Develop:
- Basic herd health management and tracking
- Hands-on experience with livestock pregnancy, labor and delivery, and care of newborn goat kids
- Raw milk distribution using a herdshare program
- Food safety protocols and procedures pertaining to raw milk production
- Procedures and benefits of rotational grazing
- Conflict resolution, volunteer coordination, and communication skills
- The opportunity to work in a dynamic team environment with a passionate, committed team
- Hands-on experience making a positive impact in the lives of children, teens, and adults
- Networking and community connections within the burgeoning local food movement
- Development of marketable leadership and management skills
Structure of Internship:
- Internship duration is 12.5 weeks, running March 3rd, 2025 – May 30th, 2025
- Intern works an average of 15 hrs/wk, including regular weekend shifts
- Intern will be required to attend a mandatory internship orientation on Monday May 3rd from 8:30am – 1:00pm
- Each Intern is supported by a Mentor and a Supervisor
- Mentor oversees daily activities and supports each Intern’s growth during weekly
- meetings throughout the duration of the contract
- Supervisor is available upon request for check-ins and meetings and provides general
- oversight of Growing Gardens’ internship program
- Learning Objectives Contract – Developed within the first two weeks of internship. This includes: position description, educational objectives, learning activities, and skill development
- Evaluation – An end of season evaluation will include intern self-evaluation, supervisor, and mentor evaluation
- This internship qualifies for credit at the university level
Benefits of Interning with Growing Gardens:
- Access to a wide variety of discounted organic seeds and plant starts including 50% off at our annual Plant Sale
- Access to fresh raw goats milk/cheese as season/availability allows
- Property is centrally located and easily accessed via public transportation
Qualifications:
- Responsible, dedicated, and organized individual
- Able to work effectively, efficiently, and independently
- Strong work ethic and a passion for animals, farming, and developing community
- Must be comfortable working with large animals and be able to move the herd to and from grazing areas on a daily basis
- Ability to work early morning, evening, or weekend hours and under adverse weather conditions
- Physically capable of regular manual tasks, including lifting up to 50 pounds
- Some animal husbandry experience is desired, but it is not required for this position
Growing Gardens prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination or harassment and will take affirmative measures to ensure against them, especially if they are carried out on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, marital status, national origin, disability, status as a veteran or disabled veteran, neurodiversity, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, genetic information, matriculation or political affiliation. This policy applies to all employees or potential employees, volunteers, participants, members of the Growing Gardens Board of Directors, people who serve on Growing Gardens’ committees, and anyone attending Growing Gardens’ events. This policy extends to all aspects of employment at Growing Gardens, including hiring, transfer, promotion, training, working conditions, policies, compensation, evaluation, discipline and termination.
To apply: Applications due by February 14th, 2025, but the position will remain open until filled. Please send a cover letter, a copy of your resume, and two professional references to katelyn@growinggardens.org with your name and “Spring 2025 Goat Dairy Internship” in the subject line. In your cover letter, please share a bit about what interests you about the position, what days/times you are available for this 15 hr/wk internship, and any relevant experience you have with livestock/animal care, farming, or sustainability.
Please contact Katelyn Toppel at katelyn@growinggardens.org with any questions
Educational Opportunities: Many experiential learning opportunities plus some workshops/seminars.
Skills Desired: ● Responsible, dedicated, and organized individual ● Able to work effectively, efficiently, and independently ● Strong work ethic and a passion for animals, farming, and developing community ● Must be comfortable working with large animals and be able to move the herd to and from grazing areas on a daily basis ● Ability to work early morning, evening, or weekend hours and under adverse weather conditions ● Physically capable of regular manual tasks, including lifting up to 50 pounds ● Some animal husbandry experience is desired, but it is not required for this position
Meals: No
Stipend: $350 upon completion
Housing: No
Preferred method of Contact: Email