Do you love working with animals and have you always wanted to work on a farm with livestock? Baby cows? Baby lambs? Baby chicks? Nick and Angela from Boundy Farms welcome you to come get the feel for working with multiple species of livestock on their family farm. You will even get little peaks into a native grassland prairie paired with poly crops that will give you a summer to learn all about raising animals in a way that can benefit the land!
ABOUT BOUNDY FARMS
Boundy Farms is located near Cartwright, Manitoba – Treaty 1 Territory
The goal on the farm is to increase and promote life and not to control or restrain nature.
Nick and Angela recently relocated from another farm to the farm they are on now, they are having fun building infrastructure, fencing and installing water systems. The land is a mix of native pasture, poplar woodland, and crop land that they look forward to putting in more and more effort to regenerate. The farm is also home to 180 beef cows, 280 sheep, and a small flock of laying hens.
They market some freezer beef and eggs direct to consumer, and the grain, like most grain operations, they market in bulk.
They have a great goal of adding to and building an ecosystem that truly maintains itself without external inputs. Another goal is to provide more customers with nutritious food. They enjoy working with livestock and find the work rhythm really flows with the seasons, having some rest time in the winter.
About the apprenticeship:
The farm has a lot of diversity so the learning will be diverse and great! In March, there are around 180 cows who calve and 280 ewes will have baby lambs in late May and early June. The apprentice will be right there in the thick of it while the cows and sheep are having babies. The apprentice will also get a chance to brood and raise chickens from start to finish, caring for the birds would be the apprentices main responsibility after lambing and would entail daily moves of the chicken tractors and feeding watering etc. Grazing moves of all livestock will also be part of the job. The farm also has grain land where they grow many different crops including intercrops and cover crops. The apprentice will get to learn the what’s and why’s of what the farm grows and the theories their practices.
As part of the apprenticeship, you will meet with other apprentices across Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta who are part of the Young Agrarians Apprenticeship program. Field days, learning opportunities and potlucks will be planned with the Manitoba group at each hosts farm. You will also be encouraged to attend a regenerative or organic food conference during or following the apprenticeship (with potential volunteer positions available).
About the farm mentors:
The Boundy family is Nick, Angela, and their kids, Jayse and Macey.
Nick and Angela will be the two mentors. Nick will be the main mentor, his role is business management and vision setting, crop planner, grunt, and equipment operator. Angela has her own cow herd that she manages, she is the book keeper, she organizes and takes sale orders for produce.
2022 was Boundy Farms’ first year as farm mentors in our program. They connected well with their apprentice while sharing farm skills and knowledge.
Skills this farm has to teach:
The following skills are being offered by this farm. While you’ll get exposure to many of these areas, it is likely that not all will be covered. Apprentices will work to identify the skills they want to develop through a learning plan with the host farm.
| GRAIN FARMING & cover crops | GARDENING |
|---|---|
| FEncing & rotational grazing | egg collection, cleaning, packaging |
| raising sheep & lambing | pasture raised chickens (hens) |
| Raising cattle & Calving | livestock nutrition |
| multi-species grazing | livestock watering systems |
Skill required of the apprentice:
*Work clothes and appropriate footwear.
*Vehicle is requirement
Housing, Stipend and Duration:
*They have an extra house that is close to the farm (including internet and laundry) that would be available to the apprentice.
*There is a library in cartwright.
*Shared meals would be available.
*Wages / Stipend to be determined
*Mid March to Nov 1 – flexible start and end dates.
*Apprentices would be expected to work 6 days a week.
*Time off would hopefully be limited to a max of 1 week long periods
About the Community and Land:
The farm is 6 miles from Cartwright. There is a grocery store, restaurant, bakery, ag and auto repair shop, gas bar, drug store, post office, ranch supply store, daycare, school in town. The community is mostly farmers and rural folk. The neighbours look out for each other and its a good spot to be.
This farm, like many others, is surrounded by agricultural cultivated land, uncultivated land, Indigenous people and voices from non-settler walks of life. We encourage everyone to build relationship with the land and community that surrounds the place where you will be learning.
More Details about this Apprenticeship and How to Apply
Deadline to apply > January 31st, 2023
Contact Sara (program coordinator) for questions: manitoba@youngagrarians.org
Interested in the apprenticeship
Hi Charles! Fantastic! The deadline to apply for the YA Apprenticeship Program is January 31. You can learn more and apply here: https://youngagrarians.org/tools/apprenticeships/apprenticeship-program/
Cheers,
JoHana