Apprenticeships on Multiple Farms with Additional Education
Seed to Seed Farm School is an expansion of the educational work done over many years by Rhode Island based Big Train Farm. In 2024 S2S launched the beginnings of it’s educational curriculum to better serve local farmers and growers of all kinds.
Please read below about the program before Applying
Apprentices: Learning While Working
Beginning in 2025 Seed to Seed Farm School will be facilitating apprenticeships in Rhode Island and Massachusetts with potential expansion into Connecticut.
People enrolled in the S2S Apprenticeship Program will be assigned to three registered host farms in their area. With a large number of farms in our network we aim to place apprentices on farms of their choosing and within a reasonable commute. Apprentices will work on these three farms five days every week from March to November on a rotating schedule.
For example, an apprentice may work on Holly Farm on Mondays and Tuesday, Maple Farm on Wednesday and Thursday, and then Juniper Farm on Friday. The following week they will work on Juniper Farm on Monday, Tuesday, Holly Farm on Wednesday and Thursday, and Maple Farm on Friday and so on over the course of the growing season.
This rotating schedule will give apprentices the full breadth of experience of each of their assigned farms for the entire growing season.
Apprenticeship: Formal Education
Apprentices will be enrolled in the Seed to Seed Farm School Curriculum which will include core course, such as business training, marketing and record-keeping, agroecology, and soil and plant science These Core Courses will be offered in the spring and fall. Electives in the form of additional Seed to Seed courses, local workshops, farm tours, and so on will also be requirements for apprentices to fulfill. Events that satisfy the elective requirements are offered year-round in the region.
Some Host Farms will also be offering work shops during the growing season open to the entire S2S community. S2S will work with regional partners to arrange guest speakers and facilitate farm tours.
Core Courses: Business and Science Foundations
Core courses will be offered virtually in order to accommodate apprentices in various regions:
Soil and Plant Science, Organic Methods
Although S2S offers apprenticeships on non-organic farms in our community, Organic is the method of farming we think is best for our health, our community, and our planet. In this foundational course we will explore the scientific nature of soil, its physical, chemical, and biological structure. We will then look at the plant system, how mineral nutrition is assimilated in plant tissue and how plants form synergistic relationships with the soil. This class explores the soil food web in brief and examines the controversy in the farming world around how to best provide proper nutrition to crops and livestock. Lastly we will look at the world of organic/regenerative agriculture, talk about some pioneer growers, and John will discuss his journey with Big Train Farm’s organic system.
Introduction to Agroecology
Agroecology is the modeling of farming practices with natural systems. Being informed by natural systems is a way to reduce inputs on the farm, regenerate depleted soil, encourage biodiversity, and save money and labor. This course is taught by Dr. Alejandro Brambila, an agroecologist based in southern New England. Dr. Brambila will discuss different models of biomimicry and how to implement them into various kinds of farming systems. Agroecology ranges from the elegantly simple to the highly complex and Dr. Brambila will help to simplify and demonstrate these practices using examples from successful farmers.
Build Your Farm – Cash Flow and Business Planning
Understanding cash flows and budgeting is critical to running a financially viable farming business. In this course offered in the fall we will be building a mock-farm over the course of five-classes. Using spreadsheets and sleuthing we will build a viable cash flow and follow the progress of our mock-farm for several years. This class will provide students with a solid understanding of the seasonable variability of income, the realities of expenses and how those expenses are partially determined by region, the farm’s location. Students will grapple with investment decisions, long-term business planning, and see how an understanding of cash flow can provide peace of mind and empowerment.
Marketing, Record Keeping
For better or for worse the ultimate test of any commercial farming operation is how to make money. Marketing can be a challenging and confusing step for beginning farmers. How to get involved in local or regional markets can be daunting. Should your farm focus on wholesale or retail sales? How does someone start a CSA program? Is a CSA even practical where your farm is located? This course will explore these questions and more.
Success in marketing depends on being informed about what you’re producing and when, how efficient you are with the land you have, and how you make all the pieces fit together. This includes planting schedules, harvest expectations, field plans, crop rotations, labor scheduling, and more. The second half of this class will be a detailed explanation of record keeping, what’s important and what’s not. By the end of the course students will understand how to account for all major facets of their farming career through good record keeping.
Apprentices: Paid For Time
S2S Apprenticeships will be paid position. Apprentices will be put on the payroll of their host farms and be paid at least minimum wage for their time. Wages may vary between host farms.
S2S will compensate host farms up to 50% of the wages of their S2S apprentices depending on pay rate.
Application: Apply Today
Click HERE to apply for the Seed to Seed Farm School 2025 apprenticeship program.