Rainshadow Organics accepts Rogue Farm Corps interns and apprentices for a seven month farm intensive educational experience. Our internship/apprenticeship begins mid-April and ends mid-November. 

Interns and Apprentices are required to live on the farm for the duration of the seven month position. We provide seasonal on-farm housing. Interns/apprentices have access to all veggies, meats, eggs, dairy, and grains they will need during their internship/apprenticeship. They will have access to our commercial kitchen for cooking personal meals. The kitchen is fully stocked with all cookware and other staple food items. 

Interns and apprentices will receive a monthly stipend which will be discussed during the interview process. 

Interns/apprentices train Monday through Friday from 7-12, and then three hours in the afternoons. We expect interns/apprentices to work 8 hours per day minimum; however, given the nature of farming, some days will be longer, up to 10-11 hour days. Breakfast needs to be eaten and cleaned up before work at 7am.  In the morning we train as a team, planting, prepping beds, weeding, harvesting, processing chickens, cleaning manure, training tomatoes, managing pests, building irrigation systems, laying out drip lines, washing and packing produce, packing meat for market, harvesting lettuce mix, etc.…

Afternoons are more flexible.  We take a long lunch break/siesta—two to three hours —and start again around 4pm and work until 7, which is very nice on hot summer days.  Interns/apprentices often use their afternoon break to dip in the farm swimming pond or nearby river, run errands in town, or find a shady spot to rest. We take turns going to farmers’ market and working independently on projects.

Our interns/apprentices rotate through weekly animal chores, including weekend duties, where the intern/apprentice is in charge of all animal husbandry, irrigation, and generally keeping an eye on the status of the farm.  If you are on weekend duty you are expected to be at the farm. You will likely be on weekend duty 5 times through the course of the 6 month season. Otherwise, weekends are free.  

One intern/apprentice works in the commercial kitchen Monday-Friday and is responsible for making lunch for the crew, assisting our chef,  washing dishes, processing farm items, helping customers in the store, and setting up and cleaning. The farm store and kitchen is an important new element of the farm and potential interns/apprentices must be willing and excited to cook and participate in food preservation.

Interns/apprentices will also be doing an independent study project for your RFC requirements. Interns/apprentices can choose any farm-related topic they would like to focus on. We have many resources on the farm to support all independent project ideas. We will host check ins about independent projects and and Rogue Farm Corps classes after the first two weeks and then again mid-way through the season.

The Rogue Farm Corps holds off-farm classes for interns/apprentices and weekend intensive learning experiences for apprentices. These off-farm learning experiences are intended to diversify the information you receive about farming to better inform you about different practices. Interns are required to attend It is important to remember that off-farm RFC classes are not part of your farm time if you are counting your hours.  We endeavor to be very respectful of your time, setting a predictable schedule and holding to it.

• Interns/apprentices should come to Rainshadow Organics with a deep desire to learn the integrated systems and operations of a full-diet, certified organic farm. We expect interns/apprentices to maintain a positive attitude and actively contribute to our workplace/learning environment.
• Interns/apprentices should be physically fit, able to life up to 50 lbs, and be on their feet for multiple hours during the day.
• Apprentices must have previously completed an internship with RFC or have two full seasons of farming experience.
• We expect a full-season commitment from everyone, with an optional second year to be discussed.