Farm Opportunities

This is a production farm. While all farms are subject to the vagaries of unpredictable weather and mechanical breakdowns, I have put years of experience, thought, and planning into shaping methods that work. I am organized with my time, my tools and the daily operations of the farm. You’ll work hard here, but your work won’t be wasted. If you want to learn how to raise vegetables on a small organic vegetable CSA farm, you’ll see an example of a system that is profitable & works.

Depending on skill level and interest, employees and interns will share the responsibilities of farmers market days (Saturdays) and/or lead a crew on Saturday mornings when CSA members come to the farm to fulfill their Farm Work Shifts.  For 35 weeks of the year (April thru December), I follow a weekly harvest & delivery schedule for the CSA & farmers market.  On Tuesdays and Fridays the entire crew typically works most of the day harvesting and washing produce.  That produce is stored overnight in our coolers, and on Wednesday afternoons CSA shares are delivered to Columbia where they are distributed to our members.  On Saturdays I sell at a large farmers market in Columbia, MO as well as distribute CSA shares at the market.  On Wednesday afternoons and Thursdays the crew focuses on sowing seeds, weeding, transplanting, trellising and other various farm tasks.

• You must be able to do repetitive physical work outdoors in hot, cold, and rainy weather. Your knees and back must withstand bending, kneeling, stooping, and sitting on the ground for hours at a time.
• You must work carefully and be detail-oriented. I am picky and fastidious. My quality standards are exacting.
• At the same time, you must be fast. Not sloppy, rushed, or careless, but quick and efficient. Time is money; and money pays you, pays us, and keeps the farm afloat.
• You must communicate and cooperate with your co-workers. There are few things more frustrating than work which was left undone, was done poorly, or took too long because workers did not talk to each other or work together.
• In the end, I am flexible and understanding. I recognize and appreciate human differences, and I’ve worked happily and long beside employees who’ve had some shortcomings in the areas above but who were trying their honest best. But without exception, you must have a good attitude. I have no tolerance for people who don’t respect the quality of their work and their co-workers. If you’re lazy or rude, then you won’t work here.
• You do not need experience. Many great workers have come here with no experience growing vegetables. However, workers with experience are likely to start with higher pay and more responsibilities.

When hiring interns/apprentices farming experience is definitely not the first thing I look for; what I do require are a willingness to work hard, learn what I have to teach and all the while enjoy what you are doing! If farming for a living is not truly your long term goal then you will find out very quickly that you will not be happy doing the extremely physical work day in and day out that farming requires.

My goal with providing an internship opportunity is to teach as much as I know about all aspects of farming from greenhouse work, in the field planting & weeding, planning/scheduling/organizing, bugs & diseases, equipment repair & maintenance, construction skills (when applicable), and everything else in between. While simultaneously working, working, working (in all weather) and having fun and enjoying the work while we do it.

An internship with Happy Hollow Farm will provide you with one of the fullest most in depth experiences you could hope for on a certified organic vegetable farm as well as an extensive learning opportunity for new farmers wanting to get their hands dirty and experience the good, the bad, the ugly & the immense rewards of organic farming.