WE ARE CURRENTLY ACCEPTING
APPLICATIONS FOR JULY-NOVEMBER 2013 INTERNSHIP
Overview:
Weathertop Farm is a small 67-acre farm located in scenic Floyd County, VA, just
a few miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway, with all it's recreational opportunities, and only 14 miles from the town
of Floyd, renowned for it's thriving artist, music, and local food scene.
Weathertop Farm accepts
1 or 2 interns each year for the duration of our May - November season. We're looking for folks interested and
passionate about preserving sustainable agriculture systems within our local food-shed communities. Interns must
be ready to work hard doing manual labor in all kinds of weather. Basic housing is provided along with whatever
food is grown here on the farm and group farm lunches will be regular fare. A monthly stipend of $400 per person
will be provided. We expect interns to put in approximately 40 hours a week on average, most work is done from
7-12 Mon-Sat as well as afternoons and all processing days. You can expect to work alongside the farmer for some
tasks, and independently for others. Opportunities are available for those with initiative to make some money
from projects of their own, some examples might be: growing some extra chickens, trying out a heritage breed of turkey
or growing vegetables for market.
What
we expect of you:
no previous
farming experience necessary, but these are qualities we're looking for:
-a positive attitude
-willingness to try new things
-enthusiasm
-flexibility
-commitment
-personal initiative
-cooperation for working with others
-ability to follow directions
-ability to do manual labor
-good people-person comfortable in a sales setting interacting with customers.
-ability to work with
children
We have 5 kids ranging in ages from 9-16, and we need you to be able to work well alongside them
when they're around. We also have extended family and friends living nearby and frequently visiting and
helping out. We care a great deal about our farm community and try to keep our environment clean and healthy on
all levels.
So we ask all interns to
commit to no smoking, no drugs and no drama.
We give preference to someone who can commit to the whole time
from May-Nov.
Work will include but is not limited to:
Caring for laying hens: feeding & watering, collecting
and carrying eggs (multiple times a day).
Cleaning eggs: sorting, washing, packing (daily)and
delivery(2-3 x/week)
Assisting with regularly moving fences and hen houses (weekly)
Caring
for broiler chickens: moving and servicing pens (twice a day)
Brooder care: caring
for chicks in the brooder(twice a day), transferring out to the field (once a month).
Pigs:
feed and water(twice a day), fence maintenance, moving pasture, cleaning out portable house (occasionally)
Rabbits: scything grass, feed and water twice a day.
Hauling 50-lb feed bags in and out of truck/barn
and distributing to animals as needed.
as well as other small animal care...
We do a lot of small
construction projects around the farm, so if you have some carpentry skills that's a plus but not required.
Processing: we butcher
chickens on a 5 week rotating schedule, usually on Tues, Thurs & Sat every 5 weeks from May-Oct. This is
a long day of set-up, cleaning, butchering, lots more cleaning, and in the afternoon assisting with sales & customers
on top of everyday chores. Thanksgiving time also means several more days of processing turkeys, both in October
and November.
these days are an essential part of our farming operation and are a mandatory part of the internship,
attendance required and non-negotiable
Farmers Market: Saturdays
start around 5am and involve packing coolers and vehicle, driving to Blacksburg (50 minute drive) setting up, interacting
with customers & sales from 8-2, break down, drive home, unpack.
Other work: composting, mowing, fence set-up and moving, plenty of
garden work, cleaning out bedding from brooder& hoop-houses, driving to mill for feed pick-up and unloading, cutting
firewood, and other miscellaneous work.
What you can expect from us:
This can be a great learning opportunity for someone interested
in this kind of pasture-based farming. It does require initiative and dedication on your part, but there is
ample opportunity to learn about raising these animals first-hand, how a pasture-based system operates, and what the
daily work is like on a farm. You can expect a lot of time from us for conversations about farming and related
issues, and ample opportunity to ask whatever questions you have. Through this experience you can gain an understanding
of the daily ups and downs and ins and outs of a farming season, and because of the diverse range of tasks we require
help with (raising animals, butchering, sales & marketing) we hope you would gain an understanding of how the
diverse operations of our farm are integrated into one business and function as a whole.
Housing: very old rustic farmhouse, furnished with basic amenities.
House has some electricity and basic bath & kitchen facilities, including composting toilet. You may use the
laundry & internet at the main house.
Meals: We welcome interns to join us for lunch daily, and sometimes
for dinner, too, other meals you will be responsible for yourself. You will have access to food that is grown on
the farm (meat, eggs, veggies).
Lunch will regularly include informal meetings to discuss upcoming tasks,
projects and plans, as well as give and take of feedback between us on what we've all been doing.
Stipend
of $400/month.
Sundays off, some Saturdays and afternoons off, too
Opportunities for education:
access to our farm books along with some recommended
reading assignments.
Opportunity to learn poultry processing as well as marketing and sales
chance
to try a project on your own while you have access to farm equipment, land, animal housing, markets and advice.
chance to use space in our garden to grown something for yourself and/or for sale.
chances to visit/work with
other farms and alternative food systems in Floyd and see what they are doing
Opportunities for recreation
& entertainment:
Meet
other interns in Floyd so you can socialize & network with them
The nearby town of Floyd has a great food,
music & arts scene going on.
Proximity to the Blue Ridge Parkway offers lots of chances for hiking
& camping.
Nearby Blacksburg, home of Virginia Tech, is a great college town with lots going on.
Application process:
Please read through all relevant information here as well as on our website so you are familiar with our
farm.
In addition to the written application, in almost all cases we will require an in-person visit,
(which could be an overnight or weekend stay) so we can get a feel for one another.
Please contact us at info@weathertopfarm.com with any questions about the internship. We look forward
to hearing from you.
