Company description

Rag & Frass Farm is a certified organic veggie and cut flower farm, entering its 8th year of production in rural central Georgia.  We farm in the geographic center of the state, two hours South of Atlanta and two hours from Savannah. We have 3 acres of in production on a larger 54 acre slice of country heaven, which includes woods, pond, pasture, and creek.  We grow both in open fields and in 4 large high tunnels and are passionate about our soil and crop rotation, preferring a combination of covercropping, mulching, occultation, no-till, and conscientious tillage to work our land. We are primarily a market farm, selling at 3 farmers markets a week, year round.  We are also part of a small farmer-owned regional co-operative which increases our farming community's access to markets and restaurants.  In addition to farmers markets, we have a small roadside stand, sell to local restaurants, and do floral arranging for seasonal events and weddings. 

The farm was started by Julia, originally from Boston, and was joined 3 years ago by her partner Brandon, originally from San Diego.  

 

Internship description

We believe the best way to learn the skills and intuition it takes to be a farmer is to get elbow-deep in a working farm.  Apprenticeship offers immersion in the real day to day work and life of our operation.  Our hope is to help prepare apprentices for actualizing their farming ambitions with confidence and skills earned from experience.  All aspects of farm work and business are on the table.  The books, the plans, the money, we are open and willing to share our experience.  Apprentices can also expect to learn marketing, crop planning, pest and fertility management, food safety, post-harvest handling, greenhouse seeding, propagation, weeding, using tools and equipment, floriculture and soil science.  Oh yea, and lots of harvesting. 

Due to our market and harvest schedule, work is 6 days a week, usually 50-55 hours.  Our weekly schedule is a mix of routine and flexibility, with certain days dedicated to harvest and market, others are 'farm work' days and tasks vary with the time of year and weather.  During summer we work two-part days with long siesta to avoid the heat. 

Throughout the season we will do sit-down mini classes on specific topics as they come up and we want to dive deeper.  We also have an extensive farming library, and membership and archive access to Growing for Market, The Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers, and more.  We are well-connected to other farmers around our region, state, and the southeast, and we are active members in our local Middle GA Young Farmers Chapter (part of NYFC).  We also like to go on farm field trips to visit with our farming friends and check out their farms.   

 We work hard, but with purpose and passion.  It is very important that our team is made up of folks who are positive, creative, curious, communicative, reliable, and committed. 

Compensation this position is : stipend / non-monetary compensation
Details: Apprentices will be paid $800/month. We offer a week's paid vacation in August, and significant bonuses upon completion of the season. Room and board (laundry, WiFi) provided, plus all the food! More info on accommodation will be provided upon request/application. Application instructions DeadlineMarch 31, 2020