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Plow Creek Farm (www.plowcreekfarm.com) is seeking three interns to join their team for the 2014 growing season.
Plow Creek Farm is connected with Plow Creek Fellowship (www.plowcreek.org), a Mennonite affiliated Christian Community located in NW Illinois, about 2 hours west of Chicago. We are primarily a berry operation, with strawberries and blueberries being our two largest crops. We also have smaller plantings of raspberries, blackberries, cantaloupe, watermelon, tomatoes, garlic, winter squash, potatoes and other vegetables. We alo have a small herd of grass-fed cattle, raise geese to help weed our strawberries, and are planning on raising pastured pork this year. We sell our products through our u-pick operation, roadside market stand, farmers markets, and wholesaling. We follow organic practices and are in the process of becoming Certified Naturally Grown.
Our intern program is based on full time farm work. Most of the educational aspects of the program will take place out in the field through the daily hands on work that running a farm requires. This includes planting, weeding, harvesting, processing (we process many of our berries into jam) and selling at farmer’s markets. Interns will also be involved in helping to run the farm’s strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry u-pick operation. There will also be opportunities for more structured learning on topics related to organic agriculture (soil management, organic fertility, weed control, crop rotation, cover crops, marketing, etc.) during weekly meetings.
The internship runs from the beginning of May through September. A typical work-week is between 40-45 hours. Work days are usually 8 hours Monday to Friday, half day on Saturdays, and off on Sundays. Interns will accrue one vacation day for every month they work on the farm.
Compensation includes $700/month, on site housing with use of a kitchen and high speed internet, and fruit and vegetables produced on the farm.
To apply, please send a resume, two professional references, and a brief description of your farming experience and why you are interested in working on on the farm to intern@plowcreek.org . Please feel free to send any questions about the position to the same address. For a full description of the internship program and more information about our farm go to www.plowcreek.org/farm/intern.htm.
