Classifieds
Employment Opportunities
AmeriCorps Member - Community Outreach & Administration: Want to help build 21st century food system? Wonderful service opportunity available at the Center for an Agricultural Economy in Hardwick. Position includes co-coordinating general volunteer program and co-organizing participation in community-related events. General administrative duties, including web site maintenance and data management, are a part of this half-time position. Ideal candidate is a positive problem-solver and independent with a passion for furthering the development of a local food system. Excellent communication skills are essential. Benefits include living allowance, education award, health insurance, federal school loan forbearance and trainings for an 11+ month commitment. Send resume to Box 451, Hardwick, VT 05843. EOE. 10/20/09
Job Opportunities at Hawthorne Valley Farm: We are offering two second year apprentice opportunities. Preferred start date is December 2009 until Thanksgiving 2010. Minimum of one year farming experience on a similar operation required. One job is focused around our dairy herd and intensive grazing system. Duties will include regular milkings, pasture/grazing management, general livestock chores and some involvement with the forage harvest. The other one centers around our commercial vegetable operation. Duties will include tractor work (tillage, cultivation), crew management and also participation in garden planning. Also, particularly during the winter months, participation in some weekend milkings and other livestock chores is required. Check our website for more information on the farm, www.hawthornevalleyfarm.org. For further inquiries and to submit applications please contact: steffen@hawthornevalleyfarm.org
High Mowing Organic Seeds: is seeking two sales representatives to join our hard-working and fun-loving team for the 2010 winter sales season.
The position involves speaking with and answering questions from professional organic growers and home gardeners across the US, conducting outreach to organic growers, taking and entering sales orders, and learning about the varieties of vegetables, flowers and herbs High Mowing offers. Sales representatives may also have an opportunity to attend regional farming conferences. The ideal candidate has professional vegetable growing experience, strong computer skills and the willingness to learn a new software system. Additionally, the right candidate would have strong customer service skills and enjoy talking to people on the phone. This person will be a key part of the sales & customer service team and will provide coverage as needed to all aspects of sales & customer service for our growing company. The position is full-time from November 15 through May 31. While this is a seasonal position, opportunities do exist for combining it with a summer position on our seed farm or in our trials gardens to create a full-time, year-round position. To apply, send resume and cover letter to gwenael@highmowingseeds.com.
Market Manager Position: Bellows Falls Farmers Market is looking for a new market manager for the 2010 season Market management is a part-time (10 hours per week) paid position, with some time during the winter. The position would start immediately. Candidates should have strong interest in/knowledge of local food systems, have community connections, and be able to work with and manage groups of people. Also candidates should be proficient in using basic computer programs to send press releases, group emails, and save and organize database information. 10/9/09
For more information, contact:
Abi Miller Healey
802.348.9818
www.bffarmersmarket.com
Green Mountain College seeks Assistant Farm Manager: The Farm and Food Project at Green Mountain College (http://www.greenmtn.edu/farm_food.aspx) is seeking to hire an assistant farm manager to work with the student farm crew to manage Cerridwen Farm at Green Mountain College. Cerridwen Farm is a human-, animal-, and solar-powered farm on the campus of Green Mountain College which features an extensive curriculum in sustainable agriculture. GMC students manage two milk cows, laying and meat chickens, a flock of sheep, a team of oxen, and 2 acres of intensive vegetable production. This is a full-time, salaried position. Please send résumé and cover letter to Janie Evans in the Human Resource Department: evansmj@greenmtn.edu Review of applications will begin November 9th with an anticipated start date of December 1st. For more information including qualifications and expectations, please go to http://www.greenmtn.edu/administration/hr/jobs.aspx or contact Farm Manager Kenneth Mulder (802-287-2941, mulderk@greenmtn.edu). 10/14/09
The FARM Institute (TFI) is an educational working farm on 162 acres of picturesque coastal sand plain on Martha's Vineyard Island, Massachusetts. The mission of TFI is to operate a teaching farm that educates and engages children and adults in agriculture through the operations of a diverse working farm. By providing year round educational programs, TFI offers learning experiences in farming, land preservation, nutritional awareness and growing food, as well as the culture and history of Martha's Vineyard farming.
We raise laying hens, turkeys, broiler hens, dairy goats, beef cattle, pigs, and sheep on grass with rotational grazing. We also have an 8 acre market garden, make hay, honey and more.
Available Positions:
* Summer Farm-based Educator (15x) (June 6 - August 27, or September 10)
* Farm Apprentice (2x) (March 15- November 15)
* Farm Apprentice (1x) (June 1- August 31)
* Garden Apprentice (2x) (March 15- November 15)
* Garden Apprentice (3x) (June 1- August 31
For more specific information about the farm and positions available please visit our website at:
www.farminstitute.org
Or please send resume and contact info:
For farm educator position to Education Director Sidney Morris at education@farminstitute.org
For farm apprentice to Farm Manager Julie Olson at Julie@farminstitute.org
For garden apprentice to Garden Manager Kristen MacDonald at Kristen@farminsitute.org 11/3/09
Farm Manager: The Mountain School, Vershire, VT. Oversee a 3-acre garden, 90 acres of pasture for beef cows, sheep, hogs, turkeys, and chickens. Full time position. Minimum 5 years experience managing a diversified farm. Salary comes with benefits and housing. Send résumé and cover letter by December 5, 2009 to susie.rinehart@mountainschool.org or call (802) 685-4520 x112. For more information, go to www.mountainschool.org. 11/16/2009
Land
Farmer(s) Needed in 2010: Start-up business in second year has opening for a farm lease. Organic certifiable. Successful CSA's and farmers' markets established. Great retail location on busy RTE 5, Newbury, VT. Two greenhouses established in 2009. Irrigation in place. Commercial kitchen. New bathroom in spacious, insulated barn. Tractor, harrows, plow, mowers, 6' tiller on site. Three acres vegetables cover-cropped. 9 more acres available. Room for poultry, hogs, and fenced for beef. Reasonable terms. Call Kevin or Melanie 802-866-5024. 11/2/09
For sale - Cozy 2 bedroom 1 bath home on 22 beautiful acres. Open floor plan, lots of light, 1000 square feet of living space, full unfinished basement, second floor attic space. Wood/oil heat(baseboard hot water), drilled well. Large organic garden space, chicken coop, woodshed. 6 acres open fields, approximately 2 acres are flat and 4 are sloping. Excellent land for market garden, small farm or animals. 300 ft. of road frontage on a quiet 3rd class, town maintained dirt road. Small stream on property, 1st branch of the White River across road. Beautiful hiking, biking, cross country skiing right out the door! Centrally located - ½ hour from Montpelier, ½ hour from South Royalton, 10 minutes from Wellspring Waldorf School in Chelsea. Property is in Williamstown, VT. $178,000.00, Margaret or Andy 433-5989 or margaretandy@pshift.com 9/29/2009
For sale: 19th Century 3br farmhouse on 99 acres in Essex, NY for sale. Features 5 acres of garden/fields and 94 acres of forest adjacent to a wildlife sanctuary; Old orchard and outbuildings; excellent opportunity for a small farm with access to many local markets. Protected by conservation easement. $200,000 If interested, please contact Leah at 518-963-8222. 10/7/09
Farming Opportunity/ Farm Lease Available: The Vermont Foodbank seeks to lease the operation of its Kingsbury Farm in Warren, Vermont to an experienced farmer, group of farmers, or an organization that can help fulfill the charitable mission of the Foodbank, interact positively with farm visitors and local community members, and successfully develop an important agricultural resource. The individual or group selected will provide a predetermined amount of produce to the Foodbank annually in exchange for use of several acres for their own commercial revenue generation. Available in the lease will be eight acres of field and all farm facilities including a barn, packing and storage building, tractor, and farmhouse building. The details of the lease will be negotiated once a qualified candidate is chosen. For a complete Request for Qualifications including background on the Kingsbury Farm Project and submittal procedures, please email David Thurlow at dthurlow@vtfoodbank.org. Deadline for submittals is Wednesday November 11, 2009. Only experienced farmers need apply.10/16/09
Central Vermont (Chelsea) Farm & Forest Land (2 parcels) For Sale: 60 acres (15 acres in pasture, 45 acres woodland, incl. mature maples). Beautiful southern aspect, extensive woods roads, small brook, unfinished post & beam cabin frame with view, pasture grazed by organic beef herd since 2000. $170,000. Also, 90 acres (15 acres pasture/hayland, 75 acres woodland, including operating 1,000 tap sugarbush). Good hay, extensive woods roads, small brook, 20'x42' timber frame sugarhouse, agriculture land may qualify for Land Trust assistance. $220,000. All property enrolled Current Use program. Three organic farms in the neighborhood. Contact Andy Harper (802) 353-6111 or email: winterwoodtimber@gmail.com 10/1/09
Black Kettle Farm, near Essex New York, is seeking a farmer(s), dedicated to using organic practices and with sufficient experience to function independently in farm operations. Previous farmers have had success with CSA programs and market gardens. Currently ¼ acre of tilled soil in vegetable production, but room to expand to several acres. There is an apple orchard, a fenced pasture, a small vineyard, good drainage, a pond and lots of forest. Located on a hillside. Farm has excellent frost protection. The farm can accommodate livestock; we would love to see the use of draft power. The farm is owned by the Eddy Foundation and is considered a "Wildfarm", incorporating ecological needs with farming practices. The farm is also the home of Lakeside Preschool, which operates as a Waldorf school. We've had success integrating some farm activities with the preschool program and we wish to continue developing this interface. The farmer(s)-to-be will have rent/lease free use of the land. Can keep all farm generated income. Not a salary position. Free housing provided with a shared kitchen. Farmers with children ages 3-5 would receive free tuition to the preschool. If you are interested in this fabulous opportunity, send a resume and cover letter including a general description of the farm operation you would plan to run to: eddyfdn@mac.com or Black Kettle Farm, P.O. Box 42, Essex, NY 12936. Contact mailto:edyfdn@mac.com or call 518-963-8222 for more information.Visit our website: http://www.blackkettlefarm.org 10/7/09
Farm needed for Quaker school: The Green Mountain Friends School, Vermont's first Quaker school scheduled to open in the fall of 2010, is seeking to locate on or near a working organic farm. The ideal site would be within 40 minutes of Burlington and would have a building available that could accommodate 10 - 20 students initially, with the potential to accommodate 60 students within 5 years. Other creative and/or temporary situations would be considered, however. The school has the resources to fund some renovations or additions to existing buildings if necessary. Our goal is to find a place where our students can learn about, and contribute to, sustainable living and farming practices. We are looking for a farmer or farming organization that would enjoy working with our faculty as they seek to create meaningful learning experiences for the students that would contribute significantly to the workings of the farm. In our vision, the farm and school would be a community where collaboration and sharing would produce mutual benefit. If this sounds like a possibility for your farm or if you have suggestions for another farm to contact, please email us at vtquakerschool@gmail.com. We are interested in both small and large farms.
For Sale/Lease
Yurt for Sale: I have a 16ft in diameter yurt for sale. It has two doors and a stove pipe outlet through the side wall. I will also include a mini four burner propane stove, and a 100 lb propane tank. If you intend to wire in electricity I will also provide a mini fridge The yurt is currently standing and I will give the buyer a hand breaking it down and getting an understanding as to how to re assemble it. I am asking $1500 for everything including the platform lumber and flooring. Please contact me at 802-782-9110. 11/2/09
Registered, purebred Icelandic Sheep. Certified Organic. We are offering this year's ram and ewe lambs, proven rams, and mature ewes for breeding stock. Also available: certified organic raw fleeces, yarns, roving, and batts. Certified organic grass fed lamb cut to your specifications. Visit us online at www.KindHornFarm.com or call Kathy at 802-244-5679. 11/2/09
Roll-Off Truck for Sale by Bid. 2003 Freightliner FL112. 410HP 12.8L engine. Air brakes. 36,500 mileage. Vehicle was primarily used to haul 30-cubic yard boxes of manure and feed. Vehicle available for viewing Wed, October 14 and Sat, October 17 between 10 am - 2 pm. UVM Miller Research Farm, 500 Spear Street, South Burlington. Photos and bid sheet on website http://www.uvm.edu/surplus or phone Mark Young at 802-862-2151. 10/12/09
Jersey Bull Calf- Born 8/20/09: Sired by Comerica (Remake x Renaissance); Dam: Signature Toni - Very Good 84% as a two-year old; Dam's lineage includes two "excellent" cows with scores of 92 and 96."Teton" is offered free to a farm that will use him for breeding stock in exchange for one of his future heifer calves. He currently lives on a certified organic dairy, so he can go into your organic herd. Photos and additional lineage available on request. Please respond to: lauralee.ginsburg@gmail.com
For sale: 3 row mechanical transplater in excellent condition. $3000 or BO, 802-223-1559 10/2/09
Farm for lease: Established mixed vegetable farm available for lease 2010 season onward. Three bedroom apt., four cultivated acres, three greenhouses, barn, dryroom, root cellar, wash station, irrigation system, equipment and supplies, container van, 13 years of clients and lots more.
Contact: Emmett Dunbar (802) 824-4658, Londonderry, VT 11/16/09
Courses
The 9th Annual NOFA Course in Organic Land Care will be held January 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 2010 at Parker River Wildlife Refuge, in Newburyport, MA ; January 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 2010 at the CT Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven, CT; Feb. 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 2010 at Antun's in Westchester County, NY; and Feb. 22, 23, 24, 25, 26,2010 at the Save the Bay Center, Providence, RI. This 5-day intensive course trains and accredits professionals to practice organic land care (caring for land without the use of synthetic pesticides or soil amendments). It is recommended for landscapers, designers, municipal and parks employees, horticulturists, master gardeners and entrepreneurs who are interested in sustainable landscaping. Visit www.organiclandcare.net for more information.
Empowering Beginning Women Farmers Through Whole Farm Planning: Holistic Management International has been funded through the USDA‚s Beginning Farmer Grant to teach beginning women farmers the tools of whole farm planning. Groups are forming in New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New York. Classes will begin in December 2009. Participants must attend the 6 sessions that will take place over the winter of 2010 and 4 farm tours that will take place during the spring and fall of 2010. Each session will be on a Saturday and last 7 hours. There will be farm mentors also available. If you are a woman farmer who has been farming less than 10 years, contact the coordinator for your state for an application. If you would like to participate as a farmer mentor, please also contact your state coordinator. Kate Kerman, Small and, Beginner Farmers of New Hampshire, (603) 876-4562; leader@sbfnh.org
Empowering Beginning Women Farmers through Whole Farm Planning: Holistic Management International has been funded through the USDA's Beginning Farmer Grant to teach beginning women farmers the tools of whole farm planning. Groups are forming in New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New York. Classes will begin in January 2010. Participants must agree to attend the 6 sessions that will take place over the winter of 2010 and 4 farm tours that will take place during the spring and fall of 2010. Sessions will be scheduled when the participants are selected but will likely be held on Saturday. There will be farm mentors also available. If you are a woman farmer who has been farming less than 10 years, contact the coordinator for your state for an application. If you would like to participate as a farmer mentor, please also contact your state coordinator. Applications must be submitted by November 25, 2009. Class is limited to 15 participants. For more information, please contact: Mary Peabody, UVM Extension Specialist Community Resources & Economic Development & Director, Women's Agricultural Network. Phone: 802-223-2389 extension 13. E-mail: mary.peabody@uvm.edu. Check out the Women's Ag Network blog http://mpeabody.blog.uvm.edu/wagn/ 10/28/09
Miscellaneous
Winter Farm Hand: Young farmer looking for winter work as a farm hand or farm caretaker. Experience with some livestock, cat.1 tractors/implements, and other farm chores. Interested in both full or part-time positions in the Randolph area, but willing to go further if temporary housing is available. Looking to start as soon as possible and work until end of March/early April. To contact e-mail blackbearben@gmail.com or call (207)4092508
Interested in keeping bees? Here's your chance to receive 50% funding from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture! Deadline for Application is December 1. http://www.vermontagriculture.com/news/2009/BeekeeperGrant.pdf 10/20/09
Help Shape the Farm to Plate Initiative!
The Farm to Plate (F2P) Initiative, approved at the end of the last legislative session, directs the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, working in collaboration with the Sustainable Agriculture Council and other stakeholder groups, to develop a 10-year strategic plan to strengthen Vermont's farm and food sector. F2P will identify critical bottlenecks and priority investment areas that will help increase economic development activity to achieve a diversified and appropriately-scaled farm and food sector which serves both in-state and regional consumer markets to stimulate economic development in Vermont's farm and food sector. The strategic plan is due to be complete by June 30, 2010, so we need your feedback today! Please take a moment to fill out an online version of the F2P Survey. The Farm to Plate Initiative will be seeking community input through a series of regional Local Food Summits in November. These plans are newly in the works and F2P staff are scurrying to contact regional food centers and other local groups to help host and arrange dates, locations, and logistics for these meetings. If you'd like to join the F2P mailing list and stay informed about progress, please send an email toheather@vsjf.org. For more information, please visit the Farm to Plate website. 9/24/09
Grants: The Vermont Farm Women's Fund (VFWF) is offering its next round of grants to help women farmers improve their businesses or become more involved in agricultural policy development. The proposal deadline is October 25, 2009. "The goal of the fund is to help women get the education they need to make their businesses thrive," says Mary Peabody, a member of the fund's advisory group. "We are interested in proposals from all quarters of the state and from farm women of all ages and backgrounds." Farmers have used their awards to help research and develop new products; conduct feasibility studies; and to attend workshops, conferences and classes to learn new marketing, business management and value-added production skills and knowledge. Women account for a growing share of Vermont farmers. The most recent USDA Census of Agriculture showed that the number of female principal farm operators in Vermont increased by 50 percent, from 967 to 1466 between 2002 and 2007. The data also show that women typically operate smaller farms and have lower farm earnings than their male counterparts. The fund provides two kinds of awards: Farm Business Development awards provide support for education and travel related to helping recipients improve some aspect of their business. Leadership Development awards provide support to help women farmers develop skills, access and opportunities to provide leadership in agricultural policy development. Additionally, applicants for either award may request funds to help defray associated travel, childcare, and replacement labor. The Vermont Farm Women's fund was initially established by Vermont author and photographer Peter Miller, who donated a percentage of the sales of his book "Vermont Farm Women," to the fund. The University of Vermont Extension, through the Women's Agricultural Network (WAgN), serves as the fiscal agent for the fund and administers the grant award process. A panel of Vermont farm women makes award decisions. Grants are capped at $750. Since its first round of funding in May 2008, the fund has awarded stipends to eight women. The average award size has been $608. The deadline for submitting grant applications is October 25. Visit http://www.uvm.edu/~vfwf for more information. Click on the "Upcoming Deadlines and Applications" link on the left to get to the online application form. Or, you can request an application package by calling 802-223-2389x15. 9/26/2009
Scholarship to study sustainable and organic ag for students: Annie's Homegrown is pleased to announce we are again offering $50,000 in scholarship funds to students studying sustainable and organic agriculture. Sustainable and organic agriculture is at the very root of our philosophy: Planet to Food. Food to People. People to Planet. We believe healthy soils and healthy farms are the foundation for healthy foods, which help make healthy people! Therefore, we're proud to support the next generation of farmers. Undergraduate and Graduate students studying at an accredited US college or university are eligible to apply. Please visit http://www.annies.com/sustainable_agriculture_scholarship to learn more. Our application is available at http://www.annies.com/scholarshipapplication. The deadline to apply is October 31. 10/16/09