Want to Be a Farming Fellow?

  |  October 8, 2012

Flickr/Lee Cannon

Our southerly readers are often wondering what work they can get to sustain themselves upstate, and many of our northerly readers are working several jobs to do so. So when we came across this job description, we thought both cohorts might be interested. We, in fact, are tempted to apply. We’ve got the communications and event planning stuff down, although it’s been a decade since we last farm-sat on an organic farm in Cape Cod, and we’re not sure that counts as two years of farming. (We lost one of the chickens to foxes during our short tenure there, anyway).

The Watershed Agricultural Council is seeking a Farmhearts Fellow, someone to work with the Catskills Farmlink (connecting people who want to farm but don’t have land to people who have land but don’t want to farm) and Catskills C.R.A.F.T. (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training). The job seems to require a multitude of skill sets: event planning, writing, social networking — you’d be working with other farmers, promoting their activities, establishing communication between them, coordinating and attending events. Full job description on the jump. We heard about it over on Pure Catskills and Watershed Post.

Farmhearts Fellowship
Job Description

Basic Requirements:

  • Driver’s license and personal vehicle (mileage reimbursement will be available)
  • Regular Internet and email access
  • Strong communication and event planning skills
  • Farming experience (2 years minimum) as an apprentice farmers, proprietor of a recently established agricultural businesses or an emerging professionals in the local food marketplace
  • Knowledge of the agricultural community in the Catskills region

Anticipated Activities:

Catskills Farmlink:

  • Produce content on Catskills agricultural infrastructure – county profiles, business support, etc.
  • Draft profiles of farmers, new businesses, marketplace and community progress
  • Support input of land listings and land seekers including site visits and application processing
  • Maintain resource list including support services, funding opportunities and market outlets
  • Coordinate regional farmer education online calendar
  • Manage online farmer-to-farmer resources for livestock sales, skill share, outreach, etc.
  • Collaborate with FarmLink partners including local and regional organizations and agencies

Catskills C.R.A.F.T. (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training):

  • Coordinate the CRAFT group for the Catskills region through collaboration with farmers and group members
  • Coordinate schedule of monthly farm visits and other events
  • Create promotional materials for the program including online and print content
  • Broaden the network of intern and mentor farmers
  • Attend farm tour events and document progress for future planning and outreach purposes
  • Develop and maintain relationships with other CRAFT groups across region
  • Align growth of CRAFT group with other beginning farmer efforts

Social Support:

  • Organize events and informal promotion for beginning and diversifying farmers in the region
  • Collaborate with service provides (i.e., Cornell Small Farms Program Beginning Farmer Project) to bring programming to the county and region
  • Support partnerships with regional entities aimed at promoting viable agriculture in the region

Read On, Reader...