Internships: Small Ones Farm

Small Ones Farm is 63-acre family-owned farm in South Amherst, MA. We grow tree fruit (peaches, Asian pears, plums, and over 50 varieties of apples), raspberries, melons, pumpkins and garlic. We also press our own apple cider, make our own apple cider vinegar, and we sell pies made with our fruit. We use natural growing methods (holistic and certified through the Certified Naturally Grown program). Our primary sales outlets are our fruit CSA and our on-farm farm stand. Livestock includes laying hens, and a barn cat. We host a summer concert series, school group/camp visits, and fall apple picking (crop permitting).

Internship Description

Our internship programs offer a variety of hands-on work and training experiences on our working farm. Interns have the opportunity to assist with core farming tasks under the supervision of experienced farm staff. We seek mature college students who have a genuine interest in sustainable farming, are willing to tackle a range of farm tasks, are able to work both independently and on a team, are able to handle physically challenging outdoor work in all kinds of weather, and are reliable (i.e., arrive on time, maintain a consistent schedule, etc.). Our summer farm internship runs from June through August (10-12 hours/week). Our fall internship runs from the end of August through early December (12 hours/week). A $200 stipend is available for each internship. In addition, interns who are Five College students may be eligible for UMass or Five College course-credit through Professor John Gerber, jgerber@umass.edu. Please send letter of interest, resume, and contact information for 3 references to smallonesfarm@att.net. Deadline: April 15 (summer program); June 1 (fall program).

Summer interns assist with:

• Crop harvest (including tree fruit, berries, melons, pumpkins and garlic).
• Orchard maintenance, including thinning fruit from trees, raking, summer pruning, tracking insects and disease.
• Maintenance of ground crops (including pumpkins, melons, garlic) and bush berries (raspberries and blueberries) and vine crops (grapes).
• Infrastructure repair and maintenance.
• CSA planning, preparation and distribution.
• Farm stand operation.
• Occasional weekend/evening special farm events (e.g., summer concert series, stand operation).
• Social media liaison for farm’s Facebook page.

Fall interns assist with:

• Crop harvest (including tree fruit, berries, pumpkins and garlic).
• Orchard maintenance, including tracking insects and disease, post-harvest raking and winterizing.
• Maintenance of ground crops (including pumpkins, melons, garlic) and bush berries (raspberries and blueberries) and vine crops (grapes).
• Infrastructure repair and maintenance.
• School visit and apple picking activities.
• CSA planning, preparation and distribution.
• Farm stand operation.
• Occasional weekend/evening special farm events (e.g., weekend apple picking, farm stand).
• Social media liaison for farm’s Facebook page.