Positions Available

Farming/Processing Apprentice, 2010-2011

North Mountain Pastures is looking for farm/food processing apprentices.  We are a grass-based farm in Perry County, PA, raising poultry, lamb, and pork, marketing our products through a meat CSA and two DC farmer’s markets.  We also make fermented vegetables from organic produce for sale to our customers.

We’re in the process of setting up a USDA-inspected butcher shop a mile from our farm to process traditional dry-cured meats for sale.  We will be making several kinds of bacon, prosciutto, salami, and other cured meats with only Himalayan sea salt and organic spices.

Apprentices will be responsible for 35-40 hours a week of farm, marketing, and processing duties.  These will include, but are not limited to feeding and moving animals on pasture, maintaining and improving infrastructure, washing eggs, helping with CSA deliveries, going to farmer’s market in DC, making fermented vegetables, making cured meats, and learning about food processing and HACCP requirements.

Apprentices will receive room and board, with their own bedroom in an apartment with a full kitchen above the processing facility.  All food will be provided, with most of it coming from our farm or neighboring farms.  As a requirement, the apprentice will develop a product that conforms to our farm philosophy, write a business plan for the product, and process and sell the product to our customers.  We provide the facilities and markets, the apprentice provides the ideas and labor, and all profits go to the apprentice.

This is a new program, and apprentices should be aware that they will be a part of developing this program with us as young business owners.  The timeframe for the apprenticeship is Aug 2010-July 2011.  Please contact Brooks at 717-497-3496 or brooks@northmountainpastures.com for more information.