job opening: field manager at new morning farm pa.

credit: new morning farm

New Morning Farm are looking for an experienced Field Manager, who will be responsible for equipment, soils, crop establishment, etc.  The successful candidate will work with a great team, the best equipment, excellent soils and incredible markets.  This is the perfect opportunity that will allow you to see how your own decisions and efforts can result in high-quality, profitable, organic crops.  The salary is $33-36K to start, plus profit share. This position is ideally a long term position that may include the possibility of work-to-own. 

Specific Responsibilities:

• Applying amendments, tillage, plastic laying, bare ground, and stale bed preparation
• Operating and maintaining 50-70hp tractors, vacuum seeder, 2 types of transplanters, bed shaper/plastic layer, manure spreader, rotavators, etc.
• General maintenance and repair of buildings and vehicles, general facility and familiarity with tools and welding helpful
• Crop establishment including seeding, transplanting, and cover crop planting
• Record-keeping to meet requirements of organic certification, including soil amendment, planting, transplanting, and maintenance
• Training and supervision of others in the operation of various tractors, implements, vehicles and other equipment
• Work closely with farm manager and owners in establishing seasonal and longer-term strategies for crops, soil, and equipment

New morning farm also offer a number of apprenticeships each year, click HERE to read more about their apprenticeship programme, applications will be processed this month so don’t leave it too long to apply!!

Please email jobs@newmorningfarm.net, if you are interested in applying.

living art in Pennsylvania

“Brushes, Planets, Misfits and Other Collections” 2014 by Jeffrey Jenkins

Here’s something for all you artists, makers, communitarians, diggers (re:archaelogists) and generally strange people: Midlred’s Lane.

Residing on a site named for the homesteader that inhabited the space in the 20th century, a collection of individuals are experimenting with different ways of living/being/working/art making/formulating simply complex sentences.

NPR’s the salt puts spotlight on industrial ag workers

Photo by Dan Charles/NPR

We don’t often see mainstream media outlets report on the often invisible farm workers that hold up so much of American agriculture– let alone do in depth and humanizing interviews with them. So, in case you missed it, we wanted to bring your attention to a series created by Dan Charles for NPR’s The Salt in which Charles interviews the largely-Hispanic migrant immigrant workers on sweet potato, apple, orange, strawberry, and blueberry farms. Even for those of us who have worked on smaller-scale farms, a look into the lives of workers on these gigantic combines is both fascinating and critical. We can’t recommend a listen more highly.

You can read Charles’s summary of his findings here and follow his links to listen to each piece individually.

hudson valley farmers are making responsible meat eating easier

Attention Northeastern meat eaters! These beautiful farmers, and our friends, over at Cairncrest sell sustainably-raised, small-scale, hand-processed pork (raised on forages, local non-GMO grains, and whey from yogurt manufacturing) and 100% grass fed beef at locations in NY, PA, and VT. Highest quality meat from caring and skilled farmers. Order what you want online and choose a pick-up location!

They are also looking for individuals or groups who might be interested in setting up buyers clubs in the Hudson Valley. So if you are a passionate foodie go-getter in the that area, contact the farm!

raise the roof: help fund cloud 9 rooftop garden!

Cloud 9 Rooftop Farm fosters stewardship of urban ecosystems and communities through rooftop farming, education, and community programming in Philadelphia. The pilot rooftop garden is at the Guild House West, an apartment building for low-income seniors. The site is ready to be open for training, volunteer, and community programs  – as soon as there is a fence! They are raising $5,000 between now and May 12th to buy a steel rooftop fencing system that will enable them to host employees, volunteers, and community members safely on the beautiful rooftop farm.

Visit the Cloud 9 Rooftop farm barnraiser to learn more and help fund the project!

help mira start her family farm

VISIT FUNDRAISING PAGE

As many of you know, farming is my passion. I have farmed for over a decade. I have been “growing” my kids more the past few years, but have always kept my hands in the soil one way or another, staying connected to farming.
Gerard and I have been looking for the right opportunity for a long time now, where he can pursue his interests, I can pursue mine, and we can live and raise our kids on the farm. We have finally found a home to lease with land attached, that suits all of our needs. The farm will be in Horsham, Montgomery County, PA. This is perfect for us, because we can remain close to family, friends, Gerard’s work, and suburban/urban markets.
We want to spend more time outdoors. Find balance. Grow our own food. Sell organic, nutritious foods to our neighbors. Keep bees for pollination and for honey. Raise chickens for eggs. Expose our children to the miracles of nature.
However, a farm start-up is no small feat. Some of the major costs are seeds/transplants, a walk-in cooler, a tractor/implements, tools, irrigation supplies, deer fencing, soil amendments, and so on. My goal is to raise $25,000 to help cover some of these costs. I am confident in my farming and business skills, but I do need your help to get started! We chose March 15th as our deadline because that is when we move to the new place and also when I need to get to work in the fields!

SUPPORT THEM

ny, pa, oh: fracking waste allowed to be spread on roads as de-icer

Farmers! Did you know that New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania permits the use of brine from fracking operations to be applied to roads as a deicer? If not properly controlled, this waste can run off into adjoining property and ultimately could contaminate rivers, streams, and underground aquifers that feed local drinking water supplies. Government entities, as well as private companies, that wish to use production brine for road spreading must get permission from the state Department of Environmental Conservation to use the brine by applying for a Beneficial Use Determination (BUD).  Some local governments in New York have also prohibited the practice by passing ordinances banning fracking and waste disposal.

Click HERE to read more, start the path towards getting informed, and attending your local town governance meetings. 

department of agriculture cracks down on seed libraries

Department of Agriculture cracks down on seed libraries

by Naomi Creason

via The Sentinel

CARLISLE — It was a letter officials with the Cumberland County Library System were surprised to receive.

The system had spent some time working in partnership with the Cumberland County Commission for Women and getting information from the local Penn State Ag Extension office to create a pilot seed library at Mechanicsburg’s Joseph T. Simpson Public Library.

The effort was a new seed-gardening initiative that would allow for residents to “borrow” seeds and replace them with new ones harvested at the end of the season.

Mechanicsburg’s effort had launched on April 26 as part of the borough’s Earth Day Festival, but there were plenty of similar efforts that had already cropped up across the state before the local initiative.

Through researching other efforts and how to start their own, Cumberland County Library System Executive Director Jonelle Darr said Thursday that no one ever came across information that indicated anything was wrong with the idea. Sixty residents had signed up for the seed library in Mechanicsburg, and officials thought it could grow into something more.

That was, until, the library system received a letter from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture telling them they were in violation of the Seed Act of 2004.

…

CONTINUE READING

video: everyone deserves access

“We know that a lot of things contribute to poor nutrition and obesity but access is a key issue,” says Dr. Giridhar Mallya of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. “People don’t have the ability to get healthy foods in their community at an affordable price. That makes it that much harder for them to be healthy overall.” See how The Food Trust and its partners are improving food access and health in Philadelphia and around the country.

Everyone deserves access to healthy food. Find out how you can get involved:
thefoodtrust.org
healthyfoodaccess.org

seeking cheese intern

in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.

Cranberry Creek is looking for a Cheese Intern to join us through December, this 2013 season. This is an opportunity for the right person to learn the world of value-added goat dairy processing! Join us during an exciting time of development for this growing family farm.

Learn cheese processes; pasteurizing, safety protocols, handling the curd, basic milk/cheese chemistry and attuning your senses to judging and grading cheeses. Plus the crucial art and labor of affinage. Work side by side with the farm’s cheesemaker and owners every day. See playful goats every day in the woods of the Poconos.

Intern will learn not only aspects of making cheese but gain skills in the direct-marketing and how-to wholesale dairy. Attending farmers’ markets is required most weeks. Expect that opportunities to visit other cheesemakers for learning will be provided.

PA organic farm jobs near NY border

Field Workers at Willow Wisp Organic Farm

Willow Wisp Organic Farm grows a diverse mix of vegetables, herbs, and cut flowers on a 12 acre certified organic farm in the Upper Delaware River Valley (Abrahamsville,PA).   We are looking to fill 2 full-time and 2 part-time field work positions for the 2013 season starting in April.  Preference given to candidates with experience on an organic vegetable farm, but we will train the right candidates.  Salary commensurate with experience.  Send resume, 3 references, and letter of interest to:  greg@willowwisporganic.com  www.willowwisporganic.com

dietz produce seeks interns

Dietz Produce farm is looking for an intern or two for 2013, any time between March and September. We are a small farm, with a diverse range of vegetables and small fruits in production on about two acres.

We also have a small flock of about 100 free range laying hens, a few pet goats, a pot-bellied pig, and a German Shepherd/Husky mix named Duke. We use natural methods, but are not certified organic.  Our farming is very small-scale, concentrating on manual labor for many tasks. This is a production-oriented farm, and it is crucial to the sustainability of the farm to get all the work completed in a timely manner. Punctuality is important, working steadily at a reasonable rate is expected. Conversations during work are encouraged as long as they don’t detract from the work. You can expect to do plenty of planting, hoeing, weeding, mulching, picking of fruits and vegetables.

positions at rodale

Agriculture Supported Communities Internship Positions At the Rodale Institute

We are now accepting applications for Internship Positions in our Agriculture Supported Communities (ASC) Program for the 2013 growing season.  The ASC Program is a modified farm share program offering affordable payment plans to make fresh, local, organic produce accessible to just about anyone in the community.

Internship participants will be trained and involved in every aspect of setting up, producing, and running a small local organic grower’s business.  The ASC Program focuses on hands-on training in seed starting, greenhouse production & seasonal extensions, transplanting, pest & weed management, soil health, introduction to large equipment, harvesting, processing, marketing, customer relations, and working with community partners.  In addition the internship program will follow a comprehensive curriculum exposing participants to additional training in business planning & marketing, nutrition education, and designing a crop plan.

everblossom farm seeks interns

The beauty of the intern system is that there is a constant rotation of fresh faces, new energy, and a myriad of interesting people to meet. However, this is
inherently intertwined with the sad part of the intern system – those who blossom and grow dear move on and out of our lives. So it is with sadness but also a great deal of excitement that we begin the 2013 Edition of the Intern Search!

We’ve had some amazing interns over the past season, and we are only growing upward as a business and therefore will be searching out more and more energetic, dedicated, hard-working individuals to contribute to the farm. If the following factual information appeals to you, and the dire warnings of difficult work and exhaustion don’t deter you, there’s a very good chance that there is a place for you at Everblossom.

The intern positions begin in April and last through October. We’re flexible on timeframe and are happy to receive resumes any time of year, as we have job
opportunities year round. Our farm is an ideal place to learn what makes a CSA successful and how to market quality produce in different venues. Additionally, every intern gets hands-on, practical training in all aspects of vegetable production – an education that’s beneficial for a lifetime.

farm internships, chambersburg, pa

Farm Internships at the Fulton Center for Sustainable Living, Chambersburg, PA

Fulton Farm is an integral part of the Richard Alsina Fulton Center for Sustainable
Living at Wilson College in Chambersburg, PA. Located on 100 acres adjacent to
Wilson’s campus, the farm uses about five acres for food production. The remaining
land is in forest, pasture, and riparian border. The scenic Conococheague Creek also
flows through the farm.

We use organic methods on the farm and are members of Certified Naturally Grown.
We are a diversified vegetable farm, but we focus on high-quality staple vegetables
mixed with a few fruits, specialty crops, and cut flowers. Produce is primarily sold
through our approximately 100-member Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
program. We also market to the college dining hall and our hometown farmers market.