Farming and agriculture is a good opportunity to work hard, live in new places, and examine food production up close. Farms need extra hands during the spring and summer to plant and in the fall to harvest; farmers’ markets need managers and volunteers to run the market. Many farms and farmers’ markets offer paying positions or compensation (like housing and farm produce).
Local opportunities
Harvard Community Garden internship The Harvard Community Garden hires two interns to tend the Harvard Community Garden, assist at the Harvard Farmers’ Market, and create food-related programming. The interns have housing, a meal plan, and stipend.
City Sprouts, Summer Fellows City Sprouts, a program that brings gardens and food programming to public school communities. They accept up to six college students to help maintain the gardens and supervise programming over the summer.
Market Manager Positions: Farmers’ markets look for market managers and volunteers to run the manager table, help set up tents, run SNAP/WIC transactions. Find a listing of Massachusetts Farmers’ Markets here. Many of these markets have contact information listed – call the markets and ask whether they need any help for the upcoming season. If you’re interested in working on a local farm, it’s also a good way to get to know the vendors and learn about their practices.
Farm Employment Directory: A Guide to Finding a Farm Job in Massachusetts: New Entry Sustainable Farming Project (at Tufts University)
Land Jobs Bulletin Board : A community bulletin board for farmers, farmers-to-be, volunteers and land owners in Rhode Island and Massachusetts that features lots of job listings.
Northeast Organic Farming Association
Northeast Food and Farm Network (Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group)
National and International Opportunities
World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms: The WWOOF directory lists farms looking for workers. Most of these farms will provide housing and food in exchange for volunteer times. There is a wide variety of farms on the WWOOF database, so research the farm thoroughly before arranging to work there. Read Lauren Chaliff’s, ’14, account of WWOOFING in Kalmar, Sweden.
National Sustainable Agriculture Information Center Internships: More farming apprenticeships/internships.
Interested in farming as a career? Organizations exist to help support, mentor, and provide resources to aspiring/beginning farmers. In New England, the New England Small Farm Institute and New Entry Sustainable Farm Project are good places to start.
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