Horse-powered Farm Internship

Last Updated On: December 27th, 2023 at 08:50AM MST

Contact information

Farm Address:
3501 Hoxie Gorge Freetown Rd
Marathon, New York, 13803

Primary Contact: Donn Hewes
Secondary Contact: Julia Ramsey

Primary Phone:
    Type: Home
    Number: 6078494442
    Email: tripletree@frontiernet.net

    Email: ramseyajulia@gmail.com

Website:

Internship information

General Farm Description: Donn Hewes, Maryrose Livingston, Julia Ramsey, Becky Frye, and Corey McNaughton all farm together in Marathon, New York. There are three businesses, as well as some homesteading activities, based on the same land: Northland Sheep Dairy (Maryrose and Donn), Horsetail Herb Farm (Becky), and Tripletree Horse Logging (Julia and Donn). Collectively, this horse-powered team produces lamb, medicinal and culinary herbs, cut flowers, vegetables, seeds, dye plants, logs, and more. Multiple farmers support each other in pursuing their own enterprises while sharing the land, horses, and equipment/tools, working together when possible.

CRAFT Member Farm? No

Internship Starts: mid-May-June 1st
Internship Ends: September 1st-October 1st
Number of Internship Available: 1
Application Deadline: January 31st, 2024
Minimum Length of Stay: 3 months

Internship Details:

2024 Northland, Horsetail, and Tripletree Internship  –  Description

Thank you for your interest in our 2024 summer internship! Below you will find information on our farm, what to expect, and application logistics. Please visit the following link if you wish to apply: https://forms.gle/J8KipqybJGFtbkPZ9

 

Who we are:

Donn Hewes, Maryrose Livingston, Julia Ramsey, Becky Frye, and Corey McNaughton all farm together in Marathon, New York. There are three businesses, as well as some homesteading activities, based on the same land: Northland Sheep Dairy (Maryrose and Donn), Horsetail Herb Farm (Becky), and Tripletree Horse Logging (Julia and Donn). Collectively, this horse-powered team produces lamb, medicinal and culinary herbs, cut flowers, vegetables, seeds, dye plants, logs, and more. Multiple farmers support each other in pursuing their own enterprises while sharing the land, horses, and equipment/tools, working together when possible. The summer intern will be working with all these people to varying degrees while learning to integrate draft horse power into a variety of commercial farming and homesteading endeavors. We work and breed almost all Suffolk Punch draft horses, and in the 2024 season we expect to have four working adults and at least one foal.

 

About Northland Sheep Dairy: After more than 20 years of milking sheep and making delicious cheese, Northland Sheep Dairy is now raising certified organic and grass-fed Dorper cross lambs for meat. We use Suffolk Punch draft horses to make the hay for winter feed and complete a number of other farm tasks.

 

About Horsetail Herb Farm: Horsetail Herb Farm is a small, certified organic, horse-powered herb farm growing garlic, cut flowers, and culinary and medicinal herbs for wholesale and retail. 2024 will be Becky’s third season growing at Northland Sheep Dairy, and 11th season of farming overall. She aims to use regenerative practices that focus on soil health. HHF is a member of the Ithaca Farmers’ Market and Meeting House Farm Collaborative.

 

About Tripletree Horse Logging: Tripletree Horse Logging is a multigenerational collaborative serving central New York State with a whole system approach to timber harvesting. We are dedicated to minimizing impact to woodlands while helping to extract logs for sale, firewood, or on-site building projects.

 

Other endeavors: Aside from Tripletree Horse Logging, Julia grows and forages dye plants and fiber for use in natural dyeing, textile production, basketry, hide tanning, broom making, etc. In 2023 she has been working to incorporate horsepower into the dye garden, develop systems and infrastructure for larger scale Japanese indigo pigment extraction, and grow/process flax for linen. Corey’s approach to involvement on the farm is primarily in support of others as it relates to Horsetail Herb Farm, Northland, and Tripletree Horse Logging. Corey will be able to provide an intern teamwork and learning experiences in these realms when it comes to horse work, hand and draft cultivation, harvesting, tool selection and use, soil and resource management, planning and organizing for success, interpersonal support. There is also a family milk cow, duck flock for eggs, two pigs, shared garden space, and meat chickens (depending on the year) for our own use.

 

What to expect:

This internship is intended to be first and foremost a learning experience in draft animal power. Farming, especially with horses, is a physical activity, but we teach and learn while we work. The intern will be involved with the daily care of our horses, including cleaning the barn, leading horses to and from pasture, feeding/watering, moving fencing, hoof care, etc. They will learn and practice using horses to mow, ted, and rake hay; clip pasture; spread compost; plow, bed shape, cultivate, disc, and cultipack our gardens; harvest logs and our winter’s firewood; and move wagons, water tanks, etc. Additionally, the intern will have the chance to work with our stallion and young horses, learning about training and breeding as it arises.

 

There are a number of tasks done without horses as well. The intern can expect to be involved with some seeding, transplanting, watering/irrigation, hand weeding, harvesting of herbs/flowers/veggies/dye plants, racking and garbling herbs, moving paddocks/fencing, stacking hay, indigo harvest and pigment extraction, hand pulling flax, management of food storage areas, preservation of food, creative cooking, and possible orchard work. Additionally there is an organically managed, grass-fed family cow that gets milked every day when in milk, and the intern would have the opportunity to be involved in milking, calf care, and butter/cheesemaking as they wish. There will also be some shop and project work- especially on rainy days- including infrastructure maintenance and improvement, systems development, equipment maintenance and some fabrication, woodworking for hobbies and home improvement, renovating Julia’s apartment above the horse barn, possibly assembling a high tunnel, and other projects as they arise. Maryrose takes care of her sheep and duck flocks without much help, as she likes it.

 

Internship logistics:

The length of the internship is somewhat flexible, beginning between mid-May and June 1st and ending between September 1st and October 1st. The intern will receive a stipend of $500/month for the months of June, July, and August. Living at Northland for the summer will require a fair bit of independence. The intern can choose between a sleeping/living space of either a large, wall tent or a basement room in Donn and Maryrose’s house. There is a simple outdoor kitchen, fridge/freezer unit, and full bathroom available for use. Meals are on your own, with some access to meat, milk, duck eggs, and whatever vegetables are in season. We usually have weekly potlucks and there will be some other sporadic opportunities for shared mealtimes. We aim to balance the farm tasks with all of our individual needs and goals, including those of the intern, and will set up our daily and weekly schedule/rhythm accordingly. We don’t follow a typical work week schedule, but one more based on the weather and our individual schedules. There will be harder/longer days getting an urgent task done, and easier days with much more free time or ability to choose what you’d like to do that day.

 

Other perks of this internship include access to medicinal and culinary herbs for personal use, garlic and scapes for personal use, flowers, Becky’s collection of herbal books and associated knowledge regarding herbs, their uses and how to grow them, an abundance of raw fleece from Maryrose’s sheep, various fiber processing tools (hand carders, drop spindle, etc.), Julia’s small collection of books on fiber craft/dyeing, some dye plants/mordants for one’s own experimentation, and Corey’s home resources for collaborative or personal use including tools, equipment, supplies, reference material and welcoming space.

 

No previous experience with horses is necessary, but enough farming and animal experience to know your own interest is important. Some self motivation to work and learn on the farm will be needed.

 

Timeline for applicants:

We are accepting applications through January 31st, 2024. After we receive your application, we will be in touch to schedule a time for a farm visit (highly encouraged) or a zoom call if a farm visit isn’t possible. We will be in touch with our decision by March 1st, 2024.

Educational Opportunities: Draft horse teamster training is the main focus of this internship. There are also educational opportunities in growing medicinal herbs/herbal medicine, natural dyeing, organic farming practices, and more.

Skills Desired: No previous experience with horses is necessary, but enough farming and animal experience to know your own interest is important. Some self motivation to work and learn on the farm will be needed. 

Meals: No, but we do provide some ingredients from the farm: meat, dairy, eggs, and in season vegetables. We do share meals from time to time.

Stipend: Yes, $500/month for June, July, and August.

Housing: Yes.

Preferred method of Contact: email