Joining A Farm

[FlyingSorcerer]

I've heard tons of kids do this. I just have no clue how to find anything else out about it. any ideas?

[jonstark]

volunteering on a farm? check out http://www.wwoof.org

I havn't done it but I've put alot of thought into trying to find onme for the winter/

[Rodri255]

I understand WWOOF charges for membership.

If you don't want to pay I'd suggest searching for Farm Apprenticeships online. You should be able to find lots of applications to different farms and organizations that won't charge you to join.

[jonstark]

I've never actuallypaid the $50 to wwoof. The $50 is to allow you to access the phone numbers and addresses of the farms, but if you know someone who has paid the money you can use their name and password to get the phone numbers. I don't believe many(if any) of the farm owners check to see if you paid or not. But if you're really wanting free places to sleep and 3 meals a day, and don't mind working!, I don't think the $50 is such a bad thing to fork out if you have to.

[naterator]

also check out http://www.helpx.net/

[SwineFlute]

Im pretty sure its not anymore than 25.00 for a year of membership. I just got my membership a few weeks ago.

[joshola]

Just signed up and it was $20 for a year, so that's not all that bad and it makes it easy.

[slipshod3484]

[quote:185c12bbe9="naterator"]also check out http://www.helpx.net/[/quote:185c12bbe9]

this site allows you to join for free, but the free membership is basically for window shopping. you can see farms looking for people, but you have to upgrade to a "premium" membership ($29) in order to contact anyone.

[sprout]

You can get a directory book listing the farms descriptions and contact info instead of having access to the database so you have the info longer than the year membership password. Some farms are anal retentive and only play by the rules but most don't care as long as you don't give off creep vibes and aren't a slacker.

[leprechaun]

https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/internships/

This website is oriented more for people looking to make farming a career/lifestyle choice. There are wwoof type opportunities available, but many are exactly as stated internships and apprenticeships. I have contacted by email 4 farms through their listings on this site and found them to be very professional. Many require resumes, references, background checks or other preemployment screening. This is the norm, not the exception.

It make take some work, but I am confident this resource will be useful for anyone serious about working on a farm. There are many start ups and non conventional farming communities looking for help year round, just be prepared to make a commitment.