Farm Intern

We are a sustainable livestock farm. We raise pastured chickens, turkeys, eggs, pork, and beef--very much inspired and modeled after Joel Salatin's PolyfaceFarm. 100% grassfed beef. Everything on fresh pasture. No drugs, chemicals, or GMO feeds, etc. We process all our own poultry. We raise around 10,000 chickens, 2,000 laying hens, 150 pigs, 800 turkeys, and graze around 70 beef steers. Additionally, we have made Whiffletree a hub of excellently-raised, locally-raised, Weston Price-friendly products beyond what we raise by sourcing from our friends (lamb, organic veggies, raw honey, raw milk, etc.)! We sell to local restaurants, from our Farm Store, in collaboration with other farms, and in our northern Virginia to Charlottesville buying clubs.

The ability to work hard, a great attitude, and the desire to learn!

We work hard. 55 hours/week is normal. 6:00am-5:30pm five days a week, with 45 minute breaks for breakfast and lunch, and one weekday off. Just minimal chores on Sunday (usually 2-3 hours). So an intern is working about 5.5 days/week.

The work mostly entails moving, feeding, and watering the animals, cleaning eggs, processing chickens (every Friday or Saturday May to November) building and maintaining infrastructure, making deliveries, helping customers in the Farm Store, record keeping, and getting resources (feed, bedding, etc.)--though you would have to be willing to do anything. You will become well versed in the pertinent farm practices of raising all our animals. Additionally, once a week we hav ea "business breakfast", where we teach lessons on running the farm business (marketing, record keeping, customer service, sourcing, etc.) and delegate those tasks for your experience. The business training aspect of our internship is distinctive--not many internship programs set aside that much time for business training. The goal would be for you to leave knowing the farm and business model. It would set you up well to start your own business.