Each season we host a few folks that are enthusiastically pursuing a future in small farming. Here at Rolling Fork you have the opportunity to develop the skills that will serve as a foundation to begin the farm you will create. Carl, the Chief Executive Farmer and Bottle Washer at RFF got his own start this way,as an apprentice at two organic farms years ago.
Several of the young people that have worked with us have gone on to start their own small farms in different parts of the country. We are very proud to have had a small part in their success. Below is a description of what you may expect as an apprentice at Rolling Fork Farm.
The Season
Work on the farm goes on all year round, though the bulk of the effort begins around late April and tapers off in the fall…November. We generally host apprentices starting in April and extending to the end of October. In terms of workload one could expect the intensity of work to be fairly light in the spring, very intense from June through August, and decreasing in the fall…sort of a bell curve.
In the spring we are doing a lot of seeding both in the greenhouse, and out in the field. We produce seedlings in the greenhouse to transplant out. We mix our own seeding soil, and spend a lot of time watering in the greenhouse! We also prep the greenhouse for tomatoes, laying drip tape, mulching, transplanting, fertilizing, trellising, and pruning the plants as they grow.
Fieldwork involves fertilizing, tractor work, transplanting both by hand, and by tractor and setter, planning irrigation and laying out and connecting the drip irrigation system. Some of the fields are in rotation and dedicated to cover crops which must be seeded and maintained.
We raise chickens, both layers, and meat birds. All our chickens are pastured in mobile pens, which must be moved each day with the tractor. And of course the birds are fed and watered at least twice a day.
As the season moves toward summer we continue all the above activities adding weed control, both with the tractor and by hand weeding and hoeing. Harvesting, washing produce, packing and delivering to markets. A major component to our farm is our CSA or Community Supported Agriculture program in which local people join our farm for the season. Each week from May through October we meet our members in Lexington and in Danville to distribute the produce that is in season. We also take orders from a Co-op in Lexington, and a distributor who we meet in Lexington, so there is some driving involved as well. We also sell at a couple of farmers markets on Saturdays…Apprentice involvement in the farmer’s markets is flexible as we like to give you all some time off!
As the summer moves on into fall we reduce the field seeding and transplanting to those crops that can take cool weather or produce quickly. We start preparing the fields for winter…tilling in old plantings, seeding winter cover crops and plowing new ground for next season’s rotation.
The Week
We ask our apprentices to be able to work Monday through Friday. Tina and I generally have handled the farmers markets on the weekends though you are more than welcome to help out if you wish! There may be times when you could be asked to fill in for one of us if we could not make it to a market but that would be rare.
The Day During the spring and summer we start work around 7:30am, break for lunch around noon, and end for the day about 5 or 5:30. If it is really hot we might take a mid day siesta, or swim in the pond and make up the time in the evening when it would be a little cooler.
The Stipend This is not a way to save a bunch of money! We only provide a stipend of $100 a week. The stipend is meant to cover any expenses you might have for food that you require from the store. Stipends are paid on Friday afternoons or on Saturdays.
Living Conditions Apprentices have the use of a pretty good-sized two-story cabin in the woods within walking distance to the farm. The cabin has power, shower, a small kitchen,and a living room. There are two large bedrooms upstairs, each with room for two people. There is a pond just below the cabin that is home to bass and bluegills. The cabin has running water (from a cistern) and a bathroom. All in all it is a pretty nice set up. There is of course no rent to pay (at least for the apprentices!).
We have a washer and drier in our house, which you are welcome to use efficiently. Apprentices are welcome to use everything that we grow for their own daily use as long as we are not short on a given item for the CSA or farm account, which is usually not an issue. We bake a lot of bread in our outdoor clay-cobb bread oven, and keep a flock of laying hens, as well as a nice Jersey cow. Thus, if you wish, bread, eggs, and milk are part of living and working on the farm!
Generally you will be responsible for your own meals; though we all get together pretty frequently…Tina makes the best pizza around.
We do ask as far as the cabin goes, that you keep it clean and absolutely no smoking inside the cabin. It is not our place. We rent it for you and want to treat the cabin as though it were your own, with respect.
Two other details: No tobacco use on the farm, and we ask that you do not bring pets.
The Area
This is a very rural area, and a beautiful place to live. We feel very fortunate to have found this place. We live at the end of a road in Forkland, which is a community of Gravel Switch, Kentucky. The North Rolling Fork River is at the bottom of our hill, and above the fields we are surrounded by forested hills. There are a lot of trails and endless woods.
The farm is about 25 minutes drive to Danville where we do most of our shopping. We are about an hour and fifteen minutes to Lexington
.
Education
We hope that after working and learning as an apprentice on our farm that you will have gained in knowledge and experience. Many of our apprentices over the years have come from backgrounds in college, a much more academic environment…I did too! School is a great tool but we don’t hold formal classes here. We will work alongside of you and share as much as we carn of what we have learned from our many years of farming . It is a good idea to keep a journal and keep notes as the season goes on. We offer an experiential education, hands on, feet in the soil, and that if you take advantage of your time here to you will come away with the basic knowledge of what it would take to begin your own operation. We have always grown organically so the information that I am qualified to give you is from that perspective.
I hope that this has been helpful in giving you a picture of our farm. Have a look at the farm facebook page. Give us a call here at the farm so we can set up a time to visit.
Thank you! Carl Benson
Several of the young people that have worked with us have gone on to start their own small farms in different parts of the country. We are very proud to have had a small part in their success. Below is a description of what you may expect as an apprentice at Rolling Fork Farm.
The Season
Work on the farm goes on all year round, though the bulk of the effort begins around late April and tapers off in the fall…November. We generally host apprentices starting in April and extending to the end of October. In terms of workload one could expect the intensity of work to be fairly light in the spring, very intense from June through August, and decreasing in the fall…sort of a bell curve.
In the spring we are doing a lot of seeding both in the greenhouse, and out in the field. We produce seedlings in the greenhouse to transplant out. We mix our own seeding soil, and spend a lot of time watering in the greenhouse! We also prep the greenhouse for tomatoes, laying drip tape, mulching, transplanting, fertilizing, trellising, and pruning the plants as they grow.
Fieldwork involves fertilizing, tractor work, transplanting both by hand, and by tractor and setter, planning irrigation and laying out and connecting the drip irrigation system. Some of the fields are in rotation and dedicated to cover crops which must be seeded and maintained.
We raise chickens, both layers, and meat birds. All our chickens are pastured in mobile pens, which must be moved each day with the tractor. And of course the birds are fed and watered at least twice a day.
As the season moves toward summer we continue all the above activities adding weed control, both with the tractor and by hand weeding and hoeing. Harvesting, washing produce, packing and delivering to markets. A major component to our farm is our CSA or Community Supported Agriculture program in which local people join our farm for the season. Each week from May through October we meet our members in Lexington and in Danville to distribute the produce that is in season. We also take orders from a Co-op in Lexington, and a distributor who we meet in Lexington, so there is some driving involved as well. We also sell at a couple of farmers markets on Saturdays…Apprentice involvement in the farmer’s markets is flexible as we like to give you all some time off!
As the summer moves on into fall we reduce the field seeding and transplanting to those crops that can take cool weather or produce quickly. We start preparing the fields for winter…tilling in old plantings, seeding winter cover crops and plowing new ground for next season’s rotation.
The Week
We ask our apprentices to be able to work Monday through Friday. Tina and I generally have handled the farmers markets on the weekends though you are more than welcome to help out if you wish! There may be times when you could be asked to fill in for one of us if we could not make it to a market but that would be rare.
The Day During the spring and summer we start work around 7:30am, break for lunch around noon, and end for the day about 5 or 5:30. If it is really hot we might take a mid day siesta, or swim in the pond and make up the time in the evening when it would be a little cooler.
The Stipend This is not a way to save a bunch of money! We only provide a stipend of $100 a week. The stipend is meant to cover any expenses you might have for food that you require from the store. Stipends are paid on Friday afternoons or on Saturdays.
Living Conditions Apprentices have the use of a pretty good-sized two-story cabin in the woods within walking distance to the farm. The cabin has power, shower, a small kitchen,and a living room. There are two large bedrooms upstairs, each with room for two people. There is a pond just below the cabin that is home to bass and bluegills. The cabin has running water (from a cistern) and a bathroom. All in all it is a pretty nice set up. There is of course no rent to pay (at least for the apprentices!).
We have a washer and drier in our house, which you are welcome to use efficiently. Apprentices are welcome to use everything that we grow for their own daily use as long as we are not short on a given item for the CSA or farm account, which is usually not an issue. We bake a lot of bread in our outdoor clay-cobb bread oven, and keep a flock of laying hens, as well as a nice Jersey cow. Thus, if you wish, bread, eggs, and milk are part of living and working on the farm!
Generally you will be responsible for your own meals; though we all get together pretty frequently…Tina makes the best pizza around.
We do ask as far as the cabin goes, that you keep it clean and absolutely no smoking inside the cabin. It is not our place. We rent it for you and want to treat the cabin as though it were your own, with respect.
Two other details: No tobacco use on the farm, and we ask that you do not bring pets.
The Area
This is a very rural area, and a beautiful place to live. We feel very fortunate to have found this place. We live at the end of a road in Forkland, which is a community of Gravel Switch, Kentucky. The North Rolling Fork River is at the bottom of our hill, and above the fields we are surrounded by forested hills. There are a lot of trails and endless woods.
The farm is about 25 minutes drive to Danville where we do most of our shopping. We are about an hour and fifteen minutes to Lexington
.
Education
We hope that after working and learning as an apprentice on our farm that you will have gained in knowledge and experience. Many of our apprentices over the years have come from backgrounds in college, a much more academic environment…I did too! School is a great tool but we don’t hold formal classes here. We will work alongside of you and share as much as we carn of what we have learned from our many years of farming . It is a good idea to keep a journal and keep notes as the season goes on. We offer an experiential education, hands on, feet in the soil, and that if you take advantage of your time here to you will come away with the basic knowledge of what it would take to begin your own operation. We have always grown organically so the information that I am qualified to give you is from that perspective.
I hope that this has been helpful in giving you a picture of our farm. Have a look at the farm facebook page. Give us a call here at the farm so we can set up a time to visit.
Thank you! Carl Benson
