CORE TRAINING PROGRAM

Learn to Manage a Small Farm

Successful farmers must be diversified tradespeople - i.e. growers, mechanics, scientists, businesspeople, caregivers, meteorologists, and the list goes on. At the Organic Farm School, we strive to expose our students to as many of these important skills as possible so that they will be prepared for running their own successful farm businesses. We've spent 15 years revising our curriculum to best serve our students' learning goals and the ever-changing landscape of food and farming.

This intense program is for those who have enough farm experience to know that a farming career is calling them. The application process is competitive, and the training requires a serious commitment on the part of those who accept a place in the class (8-12 students). Beginning in March, students work with staff to prepare the soil, organize materials and supplies, fine-tune the equipment and infrastructure, and finalize the crop and marketing plans for the year. They continue throughout the year, progressively learning more about the implementation and management of a growing season. This work evolves into a deeply participatory season of cultivation, seeding, transplanting, weeding, problem-solving, harvesting, distributing, research, and evaluating. Students are expected to participate fully in classroom sessions as well as field demonstrations, alongside regular fieldwork and learning. Successful completion of the program involves the creation of independent farm business plans and a presentation to the community.

Must be 18 years or older
Able to perform physical labor for 8 hours a day, 5-7 days per week
Available for the full 8.5 month program (each student is allowed one week off during the program, to be scheduled upon acceptance)
Competent in communication and teamwork
Prepared and willing to participate in regular check-ins and reflections, designed to deepen the learning experience
Able to accept direction and input from staff
Financially able to cover personal expenses during the program (the training program does not leave time/energy for even part-time work off the Farm)
One year of farm experience is strongly suggested
Current Covid vaccination, as well as current tetanus shot, required

Pre-requisites:

Tuition for 2025 will be announced later this year. Please check back for details.

Tuition:

Housing:

Housing to be arranged on site or in the South Whidbey community.

CORE CORRICULUM

Intro to Regenerative Agriculture
Intro to Cropping Systems
Crop Planning
Genetics & Seed Production
Greenhouse Management
Propagation
Cultural Practices
Irrigation Theory & Practice
Soil Development & Fertility
Intro to Plant Biology
Crop by Crop Details
Season Extension

Intro to Soil Biology
Nutrient Budgeting
Tillage Techniques
Tillage Rotation & Reduction
Crop Rotation
Farm Recordkeeping
Composting
Cover Crops
Integrated Pest Management
Harvest & Post-Harvest Handling
Small Farm Grain Production

Business Planning Overview
Using Spreadsheets
Budgeting
Bookkeeping
Land Tenure & Assessment
Starting a Legal Business
Farm Labor
Organic Certification
Starting & Running a Small Business

Risk Management
Business Feasibility
Expenses & Production Planning
Business Plan & Start-up
Profit & Loss
Cash Flow & Balance Sheet
Accessing Land & Capital
Enterprise Budgeting
Customer Service Building

Case Studies
Mechanics
Carpentry
Equipment Operation & Safety
Equipment Options
Development of US Ag
Social Implications of US Ag
Environmental Implications of US Ag
On-farm Research

Food Safety
Farmscaping
Property Management
Scaling Up
Holistic Farmer
Business Production Check-ins
Planning Values & Vision
Agroecology & Regenerative Ag
Organic Farming

Animal Husbandry Systems
Raising Sheep
Raising Pastured Poultry
Raising Pigs
Livestock Finances
Forage & Pasture Management
Beekeeping

Marketing Overview
Knowing Your Market
Market Feasibility
Brand Development & Outreach
Pricing Concepts
Marketing Plan
CSA
Farmers Markets
Roadside Farm Stand
Restaurants & Value Added

Farming, growing food, is critically important in this rapidly changing world. The life of a farmer is not easy, not predictable, and not glamourous. It involves the kind of hard work that can exhaust you even as it inspires and fulfills you.

The Organic Farm School offers an 8.5 month, intensive, experiential “boot camp” for beginning farmers. The program requires commitment, a genuine interest in learning to work with different personalities, a radical willingness to learn about growing food for a community, and a strong physical, mental, and emotional work ethic. Springs can be cold and wet, summers are hot and dry, and fall can be anyone’s guess.

Learning takes place in the classroom and in the field. The field is a 5+ acre annual vegetable farm. The production goals will challenge you, but they are appropriately scaled for a training cohort led by experienced farmers.

We do not teach permaculture, silvapasture, alley-cropping, biodynamics, etc. We DO teach basic annual vegetable crop production because it can provide a beginning farmer with enough revenue to keep growing and learning on community-scaled acreage. Not every individual method we use is “regenerative” in and of itself, but we are committed to a regenerative approach to our long-term farm management. We use judicious tillage, incorporate cover crops and tarps, manage broiler chickens and sheep for soil and fertility development, produce and process seed, and our vegetable crops are certified organic by WSDA.

If all of this appeals to you, please completely answer the following form.

Core Training Program Application

Name

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What about farming draws you to it?

Describe what you believe the life of a farmer is like.

Describe the farm work you have already done. What was hard? What was rewarding?

What is it about the OFS in particular that attracts you?

Growing food for a community can be a deeply rewarding profession. It requires planning, budget management, weed management, propagation, bed prep, succession planting, irrigation, pest/disease management, harvesting, processing, marketing, interfacing with customers, and never-ending decision-making and problem solving. As you imagine learning how to do such things, describe your learning style.

The OFS provides a rigorous, valuable, proven training platform, supported by experienced instructors and managers. There is tuition, and students are not paid. You will be working in the field 5-6 days a week, 8-9 hours a day. The work itself is part of your training as you learn how to prepare your body, mind, and spirit for the realities of the profession. Describe how you feel about this.

The schedule and intensity of working & learning prevent more than an occasional off-farm task. In other words, you won’t have time and energy for even a part time job. How will you handle your personal living expenses during the 8.5 months of the program?

As climate, weather, culture, and economy change rapidly, farming becomes even more challenging but also more important. Why do you want to farm NOW?

Working alongside the same group of people for 8.5 months, there will be interpersonal dynamics. When you find yourself annoyed by someone else’s behavior, what do you do?

We are working toward a wholistic/regenerative vision of farming, but not every single step along the way may seem absolutely regenerative. Often compromises offer a way to get past a challenging situation so you can move on to better options in the future. How will you maintain an openness to learning as you confront some of the compromises made in annual vegetable farming?

We live and teach on an island. Taking care of individuals and community is important to us. Have you been vaccinated for COVID, tetanus, and other communicable diseases (i.e. measles, tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough)?

Please list three (3) references who can speak to your farm/work experience, work ethic, and ability to function within a team.