Company description LEARN. HUG COWS. EAT ICE CREAM! -- Kiss the Cow Farm is an organic, grass-based dairy producing farmstead ice cream, pasteurized and raw milk from our herd of Jersey and Normande cows. We also raise pastured eggs, chickens and turkeys. We sell our products through a farm store, seasonal CSAs, weekly farmers’ markets, area restaurants and co-ops. Internship description If you are serious about learning, this immersion experience may be what you are looking for. You will experience first-hand what it takes to run a diverse, organic farm. There is no better way to learn the craft of small-scale agriculture than to roll up your sleeves and do it.  The primary goal of our internship program is to teach you what you need to know and give you plenty of practice and the confidence to pursue your own farm dream.   

Our internships focus on three areas: ice cream making, dairy herd and pastured poultry management.  Depending on your interest, you may focus on one area, but will still be involved in all aspects of managing a growing, grass-based farm, including: milking, feeding, moving animals to new pastures, the installation and maintenance of fence and water systems, calf care, herd health and nutrition, safety, dairy protocols and processes.  You will be raising poultry from day-old chicks, feeding, watering, moving field pens, tracking batches, processing, packaging, and delivering to customers.  You will make, scoop and eat lots of ice cream.  You will participate at farmers markets and enterprise brainstorming, assist with marketing, cleaning, repairs, maintenance, and construction projects. 

Days are physically demanding with hard work and long hours filled with chores, projects, customers and laughter!  We take plenty of breaks –chatting, reading, and catching some vitamin D sunrays.  Our standards are high and necessarily so as we are entrusting you to prepare dairy and poultry products for safe human consumption.  Please consider this commitment before applying.  However, we find the work is enjoyable and the animals provide lots of entertainment.  This is really your experience, not ours.  While working closely with us some of the time, you will also have independent responsibilities.  So let us know what you want to learn, what you want to be able to competently do when you move on.  We will try to incorporate your goals into the experience you have with us.
 

If you have the courage to try new things and you smile at bad jokes in spite of yourself, then you will probably fit in. Having a positive-can-do attitude, being curious about life, and willing to pitch in will go a long way towards making your experience with us what you want it to be. This is a learning experience: you need to want to learn. You should be reasonably fit and able to lift 50 lbs regularly. You should also be able to work outside in all weather conditions from rain to mid-summer heat. Please no smoking, drug use, excessive alcohol consumption, or pets. A valid drivers's license is required. 
 

We don’t expect you to know everything or be perfect.  We do expect you to be willing to learn and to work honestly and conscientiously.  We’ve had some amazing interns whom we heart-to-death and still stay in touch with -including a few we think of as “our kids”. Some have stayed longer than initially planned they liked it so much and one returned for a second season!  We enjoy working with and teaching motivated folks -no matter your background.

We share a 500 acre, historic farm with other ag enterprises (veggies, beef cows, hard cider).  Crews from all the farms share a weekly lunch together.  Lots of young (and older) like-minded people to interact with in this vibrant, food-rich community.  Near Silver Lake State Park and hiking trails.  And we co-host a weekly farmers’ market with local vendors, awesome bands, tacos, hard cider, kombucha & ice cream for a few hundred people.  It is a very cool time.  This is a typical, rural Vermont experience.  Life’s great here.  Come experience it yourself! 

Both Lisa and Randy are educators with master's degrees in education. Most learning is experiential and one-on-one, plus what topics and questions come out of daily conversations. We typically teach by example. 

Our farm journey is still a surprise to us. It all started years age with 6 chickens. We now have 300 layer hens, hundreds of meat birds and a growing herd. So basically, it is out of control! Thank God we love this life, the land, our animals and friends. Why do we do this? Easy peasy: we want to grow good food for our friends and neighbors, teach something meaningful to others, and leave things in better shape than we found them. Compensation this position is : stipend / non-monetary compensation
Details: Bi-weekly compensation, plus full room & board, plus training and time to practice. Application instructions Deadlineno deadline