Farm Internship

We look forward to working with you! Contact us via e-mail at intern@plowcreek.org.

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The Peoria Journal Star published an article about farm interns, Heartland: Growing farmers Young adults find deeper meaning as they work at local organic farms, that included our 2009 team. 

Our farm internship program is now closed for applicants for 2010.
We expect a similar program in 2011, so we are leaving this up for reference. 
You might be able to schedule a visit for a week or two.  See Come Visit

(International applicants click here)

Farm Interns wanted

Plow Creek Farm, a diverse, organically managed (we farm according to organic principles but are not organically certified), fruit and vegetable farm seeks five or six interns for the 2010 growing season.

We would like to share our knowledge and excitement about farming with those who would like to learn, and recognize that we stand to be greatly enriched and have our horizons broadened by having interns as part of the farm. So, come share in the work, the joys and sorrows of growing healthy food in a way that's good for the earth, good for the consumer, and the grower.

We plan to have teaching sessions on such topics as irrigation, strawberries, blueberries, bramble fruit, tomatoes-peppers-melons, corn-field-beef, diverse vegetable gardens, garlic, safety, farm and community, and machinery.

Learn by hands on experience:

• Planting and harvesting skills
• Understanding of growing cycles for various crops (planting, care, harvest)
• Identification, use, and maintenance of tools and equipment
• Plant identification skills, both useful(food crops) and non useful(weeds).  (Actually some of us enjoy eating some great weeds.)
  
• Organic weed and pest management and control
• A basic knowledge of various cropping systems
• Direct marketing skills both in our u-pick operations and at farmers markets
• Use of a greenhouse, mulches both plastic and organic, row coverings, and other plant support systems
• The maintenance and use of irrigation systems, particularly in our berry production
• A new appreciation for healthy food and the hard work required producing it.

About Plow Creek Farm:

We are located near Tiskilwa, in Bureau County near Princeton, in north Central Illinois, USA. (see map.) We operate in the context of an intentional Christian Community, Plow Creek. The farm as it is today had its humble beginnings when a surplus of the garden strawberry patch prompted an ad in the local paper. The resulting line of people at the patch the next morning waiting to pick strawberries started something that has continued for thirty some years now. Other crops have come and gone, but the succulent, melt in your mouth, dribble down your chin can't beat ‘em anywhere for good taste strawberries have been a mainstay, and draw the greatest number of people to the farm. They also require the greatest amount of work. In the mid 80's with much hard work, sweat and a lot of faith, the first blueberry bushes were planted. Blueberry Hill is a scenic and popular destination on the farm, especially during the month of July when the Blueberries are ripe. We plan a large increase in our blueberry patch in 2010 if we can manage the labor and money needed for the job.

Today, Plow Creek Farm is ever changing and growing to meet the increasing demand for locally grown healthy food. This is where you as an intern come in. We need your help and creative energy and ideas. And, hopefully you will gain something as well.

The farm is part of a property of 189 acres, with approximately 80 tillable acres, small by most of our neighbors' standards. The crops grown here include but are not limited to: Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries (both red and black raspberries), blackberries, sweet corn, popcorn, squash, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, muskmelon, watermelon, potatoes, garlic, onions, green beans, peas, and other mixed vegetables.

In addition to the above, wheat and oats are grown to provide us with mulch material for the rest of the farm, and alfalfa is used for improving the soil, feeding our beef animals as well as a cash crop, rounding out the rotation.

Principles

Some of the things we hold important or try to put into practice

• Take Care of God's good earth. Leave it better than we found it.
• Use no harmful chemicals
• Build the health of the soil: healthy soil = healthy plants = healthy fruit = healthy people
• Rotate Crops: to control disease and weed pressure and to take care of the soil at the same time.
• Use cover crops whenever possible
• Raising beef, (having animals and their manure as part of an integrated farming system.
• Direct marketing: our relationship with the customer is most important and where ever possible we want to have direct contact.
• Working together to build community, relationships, and learn from one another.

Your Life as an intern

You will contribute to the work of the farm for approximately 40- 45 hours per week. Days can sometimes start as early as 5:30a.m. Usually ample time is given for a break in the midday heat. There will also be an occasional afternoon off for reading or other personal needs.

In exchange you will receive room and board, a small monthly stipend, a wealth of knowledge from experience, a few sore muscles if you're not used to this sort of work, and the fellowship and joy of working together with other like minded people. As an intern at Plow Creek Farm, You will have the added bonus of experiencing and participating in the life of an intentional Christian Community. If you want to know more about Christian community see www.plowcreek.org

We value the creativity, gifts, and ideas of interns. We hope to learn from you also. There will be opportunity to specialize according to individual strengths or experience.  In 2009 we had interns pick an area they wanted to help lead, such as tomatoes or melons.  Interns are active in helping with farmers' markets and our u-pick operations with strawberries and blueberries. That worked well for all.  We are considering looking for someone who would like to be in charge weeding the strawberries with a big flock of geese.  If that excites you, be sure to let us know.  Another such opportunity for specialization is the intensive vegetable growing section of the farm. This involves a much more detail oriented and ongoing planting and harvesting schedule throughout the season.

Make no mistake; farming involves hard physical work, so please come prepared with an appropriate attitude, clothing, and physical fitness. To optimize your learning experience, please ask lots of questions — sometimes we may get too focused on the task at hand and forget to explain why we do it the way we do.

Important details:

Time Frame: April 10 through late September. We may or may not grant requests to deviate from this time period.

Health Insurance: While we can provide you with lots of healthy food while you're here, we can not be responsible for preexisting medical conditions or medical insurance needs

How to apply: Email us at intern@plowcreek.org.  Let us know any questions you might have and tell us about yourself, why you are interested in our internship, any previous experience that may be applicable (experience not required, only a desire and willingness to learn). Also tell us how you would hope to use the experience in the future. Please send several references who can tell us about your work and character.

The whole season

To get the full experience of taking a farm from planting to harvest, requires being there throughout the growing season. It's a rare experience in our culture, to watch and care for the life of a piece of land from spring to frost; but doing that will give you a better understanding what farming is all about.

Here's a glance at what the season looks like...

February –March is the time for pruning Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and grapes

April-May: we gear up into planting, with much depending on the weather. We put our tractor in very low gear and creep across the field putting in new strawberry rows for the year. The mulch is pulled off all the other strawberries. We begin a serious effort to reduce the weed population in the strawberries. A plethora of vegetables are planted and mulched intensively, a few of them can even be harvested already.

June: the strawberry harvest comes in. This is our heaviest month for work. All hands are needed for picking at 5:30 am almost every day, with the berries sold at markets and through special orders made by phone; the U-Pick is open every day but Sunday; the whole month is a big push to get as many strawberries sold as possible. On the second Saturday of the month we hold our annual Strawberry Festival in the town of Tiskilwa, with the whole community pitching in to help. By the end of June we are digging the first new potatoes. We have enjoyed vegetables like sugarsnap peas, radishes and spinach. The first green beans if they are not in already, will be coming soon.

July: the blueberry harvest comes in. The pace is a bit slower, and you don't have to bend over as much. We pick blueberries day after day, and which is much easier physically and a good rest from strawberry season. Blueberry picking is peaceful; it can be a good time for thinking, praying, meditating, singing, or good conversations with fellow pickers. Also in July tomatoes, sweet corn and muskmelons come into season. We have a blueberry U-Pick open several days a week. Weed control is ongoing.

August and September: it's pretty hot by now; but nature's abundance is in full swing. After the end of the blueberries, we harvest a wider variety of fruits and vegetables: tomatoes, watermelons and cantaloupes, peppers, corn, potatoes, red raspberries and blackberries.

It's during these months in which the yield potential for next year's strawberry crop is set. So when we are not picking other produce for market, we're in the strawberry patch doing more weed control and adding fertility if necessary.

October and November: the work slowly gears down. We continue to harvest potatoes. We harvest squash. We try to finish up the weeding as best we can. We put our minds to thoughts of winter storage, and also to a big push to sell as much as we can before the farmers' markets close and the season ends. We watch the weather for the first frosts and freezes and are ready to be called out suddenly to prepare the garden or barn for a freeze. By November we're mostly tying up loose ends. Many plants are dead, others dormant. As the strawberry plants go dormant towards the end of November, they are mulched/covered with straw. With the strawberry plants “put to bed” we can drift off to sleep ourselves and begin to dream about doing it all over again next year!

Come work with us, and learn with your body the rhythm of the seasons, of nature, of hard work. Being “close to the earth” is work; but it can be profoundly satisfying.

International applicants

We would be happy to have interns from other countries. However, so far, most applicants from overseas seem to be looking for immigration and visa help and a decent wage. We can provide none of the above. Read the above description carefully. Please note that this internship is an educational opportunity; we are only offering room, board, and a small stipend. We are a small farm with low resources and cannot offer more. What we can provide financially would not come near to covering your transportation costs. We can not send you money ahead of time to help you come, nor do we have the expertise to provide you with a visa or time to help you with one.