Apprenticeship/Farmworker Position

We need more farmers for the future! 

Our mission statement includes a strong educational component and we see ourselves as an incubator for future farmers.  This will be the seventh year we will be offering internships on our farm. 

Working and participating in the life of a small diversified farm can be a rich learning experience. The work is physical and sometimes repetitive, but is balanced with mental challenges that demand creativity. The work can be deeply satisfying as you develop new skills, grow delicious and nutritious food for an appreciative community, and immerse yourself in the beautiful landscape and rural life.

    

Much of the learning happens through hands on work, working alongside the farmer, daily discussion at lunch, more formal sessions, weekly walkabouts, and visits to other farms. We also maintain an excellent resource library and assist with individual guided study. The farmer also has nearly a decade of experience teaching in Canada's premier leaderships studies program at the University of New Brunswick. 

Jemseg River Farm is a dynamic production oriented  200 acre farm. We grow about eight acres of vegetables, herbs, potatoes, strawberries and raspberries and have some livestock. We are located on the banks of the Jemseg River and Dykeman Lake and are part of the unique Grand Lake ecosystem.  We have water on two sides of our farm, beautiful views and the area is renowned for its bird watching. Swimming, hiking, biking, fishing and boating opportunities are abundant and we maintain a small fleet of boats and bikes for recreation. The historic village of Gagetown is just across the river accessible by boat or a short drive and ferry. We are about 50 km away from the provincial capital of Fredericton and about one hour away from the provinces other two major cities. The famous Bay of Fundy is also just one hour away.

The farmer is a former university educator and we focus on training in areas such as soils, crop planning, weed control, pest management, composting, harvesting practices, marketing, and sales. We have a great library that covers a wide range of topics. We strive to be a successful sustainable agriculture business model and to assist our apprentices in achieving their individual learning goals.
  Our sales are mostly direct retail through our stall at Fredericton’s Boyce Farmers Market (rated as one of the best in the country), with some additional restaurant  and wholesale sales. We are known as the friendliest farmers at the market and strive to build and strengthen communities through our activities.

We normally have laying hens and other poultry during the growing season. We will also begin planting a small orchard this year and are preparing land for asparagus and a vineyard.  We will also be developing our farm as time allows along permaculture principles with some projects scheduled for this year including a plant nursery. 

There are always multiple building projects in progress and the farmer is also a carpenter and cabinetmaker. We have a woodworking shop and are hoping to have a blacksmith forge set up soon. We maintain a small fleet of tractors and equipment and regularly maintain, build and repair our own equipment. We also have a fairly large composting operation.

Apprenticeship/Farmworker job Description

Our commitment: to welcome you into our community, to provide educational opportunities that help you attain your personal learning and growth goals as well as gaining practical skills in a diversity of areas. We will maintain a positive, safe and respectful work environment, and provide an opportunity to experience sustainable agriculture in practice. 
Learning opportunities include greenhouse management, transplant production, crop planning, infrastructure development, tillage, cultivation, weed control, rotational livestock management, composting, and careful efficient harvesting for maximum crop quality and nutritional value. You will learn to enhance soil fertility through the use of composts, manure, and cover crops. Farm rotations and insect and disease control will be discussed and implemented. You will be exposed to the organic certification process and record keeping. Apprentice duties include:  greenhouse work, planting, transplanting, hoeing, weeding, pruning, mulching, harvesting, washing produce, packing, sales at farmers market, record-keeping, gathering hay, feeding and caring for livestock, setting up irrigation, helping with construction work, building and grounds maintenance, light forestry work, bush cutting, tree planting and more. The work is physically demanding at times and can be repetitive, but rarely are two days alike. You must be able to lift 40-50 lbs.  Work sometimes has to be done in inclement weather and sometimes we have some bugs.

Expectations : Apprentice employees are expected to be engaged and motivated learners. We start at 8am and end our workday at 5:00 except for Saturdays where workers and apprentices go the farmers market on Saturdays on an alternating basis.  In order to be a viable farm we all need to be highly productive and efficient. This means working in a steady and organized manner. We begin each day with a brief work meeting so showing up on time is essential so that we can all head off to do our various duties. We do weekly farm walks to talk about what is happening on the farm and occasionally go on  field trips to other farms.

Apprentice/employees  are expected to assist in keeping the grounds and work spaces safe, tidy and organized and a cooperative and respectful spirit is required. 

The Rewards: diverse learning opportunities, a healthy lifestyle, meaningful work and visible results, participation in a community engaged in positive change, beautiful sunrises, sunsets, fresh air, good food, and camaraderie. And of course a wage dependent on experience from $14 per hour.

Summer Student Position. We have position for a summer student that qualifies for Canada Summer Jobs $12 per hour

WWOOFING
We will not be able to host short term volunters and wwoofers this year

For more information on applying for work on the farm contact Micheal Carr at jemsegfarmer@gmail.com  or by  phone at 506-470-1906

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