Internship Position available at Family Farm & Homestead in Mansfield, Missouri

Filled / Expired

7 Springs Farm

Email

Email Address Hidden

Location

Mansfield, MO

Job Type

Full Time

Salary

After 90 day trial

Date Posted

July 3, 2022

Housing Offered

Yes

Experience

0-2 yrs

About the Farm
We have an internship program with a position available in 2022 on our 700 acre family farm & homestead in South Central Missouri. We are a very diversified operation with 40 horses, 100+ beef cattle, a family dairy cow, hogs, sheep, goats, chickens, and a large garden. We run several businesses on the farm including boarding horses, selling grassfed/pastured meat, operating a bulk feed business, and running a sustainable lumber business. Our personal residence is also off-grid.

About the Position
This internship opportunity is perfect for anyone who wants to care for horses, learn about sustainable farming, raise a variety of animals, grow your own food, and maybe would like be part of a homestead community. The ideal candidate will be eager to learn, loves being outdoors, doesn't mind hard work, is willing to get up early, asks questions when you're not sure, and works well alone and with others.

On our farm, you will be able to learn about caring for cattle, horses, hogs, sheep, goats & chickens. Daily chores will include feeding, watering & checking on the well-being of the animals (with the help and guidance of the owners & apprentices.) Our goal is for you to become knowledgeable and efficient at taking care of the farm animals so you can be confident and do it yourself.

Other farm related tasks you will assist with during the day include fencing, caring for the pastures, practicing rotational grazing for the livestock, putting up hay, and gardening, etc.

We have a large family garden and orchard that everyone on the farm can get produce from. Helping with planting, watering, weeding, harvesting & processing the produce is another set of tasks you will participate in and learn how to do. We process and can meat from the farm along with produce from the garden.

Housing & meals are provided. We have a 1 bedroom 1 bath barn apartment with a small kitchen. All utilities are taken care of by us. We take care of lunch & dinner Monday – Saturday. We can help provide breakfast foods. We have a family milk cow, so you will get lots of fresh milk when she is producing. We have egg laying hens and you will have plenty of farm fresh eggs. We also raise and consume most of our own meat. Beef, chicken, pork & lamb.

We stay busy most of the week with breaks for lunch and other random breaks depending on the weather. Sundays are the slow day, where we just do chores and that's it. We farm by the seasons. So in the summer, we have long days, get up early, take a break in the heat of the day if we need to, and sometimes work late. Spring and fall are fairly normal. Winter is the balance to summer with short days, where we get up later with the sun, and finish work early when it gets dark. Farming is completely different from an 8-5 job!

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Required

Previous farm, animal handling & gardening experience is strongly preferred, but not required.
Capable of operating equipment including pickups, pulling trailers, and driving tractors is preferred but not required.
Able to safely perform ranch-related duties including 10-12hr days (sometimes) in hot/cold outdoor conditions.
Not scared around large livestock.
With over 200 animals on the farm, we NEED a detail oriented person. Someone who has the ability to notice if an animal looks off, sick, injured, etc. We can teach you what to look for, but you need to be an observant person by nature.
Must have a strong work ethic and ability to work independently and with others.
Must have the ability to listen to and follow directions without me having to hold your hand all day. We have no problem showing you how to do something and working with you while you learn but don’t want to babysit, so listening and self-motivation are a must!
Must be able to safely exert a considerable amount of physical effort to stoop, crouch, and lift as much as 50 pounds.
Valid Drivers License with clean driving record

Things to Consider
We are looking for someone eager to learn & who has a dream of caring for horses/farming/ranching/homesteading one day or partnering with us. We have had people start as interns and now are homesteading with us and have created an income from the farm! There could be a permanent position here for the right person.

This is a long-term internship in sustainable farming and horse care. We ask that any applicant be prepared to stay here for 1 year. The reason for this is we feel it’s necessary to go through all the seasons to see how practices change with weather, and what the challenges will be. We have been offering internships for the last 10 years, and we have learned that it takes someone at least a year to learn the basics of farming, homesteading, and animal husbandry.

We have a 90 day trial period. Within this period you will learn how to do all of the chores and learn about how the farm operates. We offer a stipend that starts after this period, which will be different for everyone. There may also be alternative income streams depending on your skills and interests.

How to Apply
Please send your resume with references to us at our email address.
Please include a phone number. We conduct several phone interviews, a video interview, and an in-person interview for candidates.

7 Springs Farm - Missouri