| Maine
Horsepower Farm, Paul,
Andy & Donna Birdsall, 90 Horsepower Farm Road, Penobscot, ME 04476,
207-374-5038. Diversified market garden, dry beans and other storage
crops, sheep, hay, and some grain for livestock. We work alongside apprentices
with a view to developing their capability to function independently
and effectively as part of the farm community.
- Source of power: 6 horses, tractor for bucket work.
- Horses are used for: virtually all tillage, planting, cultivating,
haying, harvest, fertilization, logging.
- Acreage: 65 open, 300 wooded.
- Other livestock: sheep, pigs, chickens.
- Skills offered in: management of market garden and crops, sheep,
logging; all apprentices come away able to harness, hitch, and drive teams on
farm work.
- Work hours: 8 hrs/day, 44 hrs/wk.
- Terms: room & board; dates by arrangement, length by mutual
convenience; 3 apprentices at a time.
- Stipend: yes.
- Accommodations: small farm house with cooking facilities, wood
heat, outhouse; we furnish food, apprentices prepare their own meals.
- Apprentice must: have a sincere desire to learn and be really
excited by the prospect of learning how to farm with horses; attitude is
more important than prior experience or skills.
- Visit first: yes.
- Trial period: 2 weeks, depending on circumstances.
Plowden Horse Logging, John
Plowden, 280 Union Hill Road, Stow, ME 04037, 207-925-2072,
. We are a family run and owned horse powered logging company. We specialize
in low impact harvests focused on improving the forest for the future.
I've been working with draft horses for 13 years, and been instructing
their use in the woods to both adults and grade school students. I can
share both my knowledge and skills in the woods, and those from some of
my associates, who on occasion drop by.
- Source of power: 2 Belgians. with a possible third coming soon.
- Horses are used for: all aspects of logging, some fieldwork,working
both single and as a team.
- Acreage: 7+/-; 1 in garden, 3.5 in pasture, 2 in woodlot.
- Other livestock: chickens, pigs, rabbit, dogs, too many cats.
- Skills offered in: draft horse care (grooming and feeding), hoof
trimming, harnessing, trailering, basic silvicultural practices.
- Work hours: 8 hrs/day, 40 hrs/wk; dawn til dark and sometimes
beyond.
- Terms: room & board; 1 apprentice at a time in summer,
fall or winter (it is best not to be in the woods during mud season),
length tailored to student.
- Stipend: no.
- Accommodations: room in family home, meals with a family of six;
hearty home cooking, mostly organic vegies and home raised meats.
- Apprentice must: be willing and able to work in differing seasonal
extremes in the woods, wake early, share the farm chores; want to learn by
doing; have a sincere interest in using the skills I can teach.
- Visit first: yes.
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Troika Drafts & The Shoeing Shop,Vicki
Schmidt & Frank Walker, 955 Buckfield Road, Route 124, Hebron, ME 04238,
207-966-2280,
,
www.troikadrafts.com.
Lessons and training of horses for work (logging and haying), sport, and show.
We offer a flexible program and a variety of draft horse related opportunities. |
- Source of power: 15 horses, tractor.
- Horses are used for: logging firewood and some saw logs with
students; pasture maintenance on a weekly basis during spring, summer,
and fall; mowing and raking hay; spreading manure in spring and fall.
- Acreage: 97; 8 in pasture, 40 in hay, 45 woodland.
- Skills offered in: shoeing all types of horses, draft through
dressage; breeding basics, AI, foaling, raising foals from birth to weaning;
lots of opportunity for driving and helping with a variety of drafts at
different levels of training; techniques for losing less money in agriculture,
especially with horses; increased ability to establish and attain goals.
- Work hours: dawn to dusk most of the time, 6 days/wk.
- Terms: room & board; 2 apprentices at a time, except in winter
when we can house only one.
- Stipend: percentage of income generated by apprentice's work.
- Accommodations: three-season one-room cabin, housing with family
during winter months; healthy, wholesome meals.
- Apprentice must: be honest and trustworthy, have a good work ethic
and a desire to learn, be respectful of humans and animals, appreciate the value
of learning from a hands-on approach.
- Visit first: if apprentice desires.
- Trial period: yes.
Wildroot Farm, Rachel Seemar,
889 Alewive Road, Kennebunk, ME 04043, 207-985-9826,
. Our farm is based around our team of Belgian draft horses that are the
source of power for our food production. We sell vegetables, flowers,
herbs, dry beans, and eggs through our Community Supported Agriculture
program and local farmer's markets. We use the horses to do all of our
plowing, disking, harrowing, and mowing. Planting is done by hand and
cultivation is shared between the horses and us. Our laying hens, as well
as our horses, spend the growing season on pasture and are moved regularly
to provide them with a constant supply of grass and us with fertility
for the fields. Our fields are hayed in collaboration with a local dairy
farmer, providing us with winter feed for our horses. During the winter
we also cut our own firewood for use in the farmhouse and greenhouse and
use the horses to haul it out of the woods.
The farm provides a unique learning
environment for apprentices interested in horse power and start-up operations.
We work closely with apprentices to ensure they are comfortable and well-prepared
to use the horses, and we understand that each person comes to this place
at their own pace. Although we have been growing food for farmer's markets,
restaurants, health food stores, and CSAs for more than seven years, 2007
is our first season on this site developing this business. This situation
gives apprentices the opportunity to see the inner workings of planning
for and marketing a new business and to provide input into the process.
The apprentice will work alongside us and have the opportunity to accomplish
all tasks necessary to food production and marketing. One of the most
effective means of learning is by doing, and we take time to demonstrate
to and encourage apprentices throughout the season. We place great value
on apprentices, knowing that individuals are working hard to learn from
us. We try to accomplish the more tedious tasks with more than one person,
but occasionally it is necessary for apprentices to do such on their own.
Opportunities for independent work may increase as the apprentice's skills
and desires warrant. We involve apprentices in whole farm administration
by reviewing the crop planning, budgeting, and marketing processes and
are open to any and all questions. Apprentices are free to participate
in Maine Organic Farmers & Growers Association Farmer Training workshops
throughout the season and are given the weekend off to attend the Common
Ground Fair in late September. There is no required reading, but apprentices
are welcome to use any of the books in our small farm library.
We enjoy being outside and doing
steady physical labor, but no extreme heavy lifting or strength is required.
Our five and one half day work week includes rotating weekends and weekend
chores, with one weekend completely off per month during the busiest summer
months. We do not expect apprentices to know they will continue with a
life of agriculture and we are open to creating an environment that meets
their needs and direction. However, we do expect apprentices to be aware
of what is required of them, and we strive to be open and clear in our
communications. Apprentices do not need to come to the farm with prior
horse experience, just an openness to learning from the horses and us.
- Source of power: 2 Belgians.
- Horses are used for: all vegetable production; plowing, disking,
harrowing, cultivating, mowing, pulling a harvest and hay wagon, spreading
manure, and hauling firewood.
- Acreage: 65; 5 in row crops, 10 pasture, 20 hay, 30 woodlot.
- Other livestock: organic free-range pastured laying hens.
- Skills offered in: organic vegetable production; draft horse
care, handling, and driving; soil fertility practices; pastured poultry;
whole farm management and marketing; food preservation.
- Work hours: full days M-F, half day Sat; 50 hrs/wk.
- Terms: room and board furnished; 1 full-time apprentice from
May through September/October with possiblility of an additional summer
apprentice June-August.
- Stipend: yes, based on apprentice's experience and needs.
- Accommodations: camper near farmhouse with kitchen, bathroom,
and living space in the farmhouse shared with the farmers and like-minded
renters; healthy meals based on whole foods and farm produce; vegans,
vegetarians, and those who include organic meat and dairy in their
diets all live and work here and eat together.
- Apprentice must: be good-natured, honest, flexible, open
to physical and rewarding work, comfortable with animals, considerate
and amiable in their interactions with other household members; enjoy
the company of many young adults in a community-minded home.
- Visit first: yes.
- Trial period: no.
Washburn-Norlands Living History Center,
Mary Castonguay, Director, 290 Norlands Road, Livermore, ME 04253, 207-897-4366,
, www.norlands.org.
Living history 19th century farm.
- Source of power: oxen, occasional tractor.
- Oxen are used for: work in woods, garden, hay rides, ice
cutting, school programs.
- Acreage: 445; 30 in hay, 400 wooded.
- Other livestock: cows, sheep, pigs, chickens.
- Skills offered in: 19th century historical research and
interpretation, curatorial duties, maple syrup making in season, equipment
restoration; seasonal farming activities, museum management, animal husbandry,
and agriculture.
- Work hours: 40 hrs/wk; may include some nights and weekends.
- Terms: room; meals not included; 2 months minimum.
- Stipend: negotiable.
- Accommodations: on site.
- Apprentice must: have a high energy level, initiative, enthusiasm,
a sense of humor; love to farm, like to work with animals, enjoy working with
children; be comfortable with outhouses, kerosene lamps, and woodstoves for
cooking and heat.
- Visit first: not required.
- Trial period: yes.
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