Are you an aspiring farmer looking to gain experience on a regenerative, soon to be certified organic, mixed livestock farm? Are you wanting to learn about beef, hogs, layer hens, and honey production?! Whiskey Creek Ranch is offering an apprenticeship; join their team!
About the Farm
Located approximately 30 minutes north of Fort St. John, British Columbia and stewarded by first generation farmers Gaston and Michelle (and young family), Whiskey Creek Ranch is a mixed livestock farm raising grass-finished beef, pasture-raised pork, eggs, honey, and other specialty on-farm products in an organic, sustainable, and regenerative way for their community. Whiskey Creek Ranch holds a Farmgate Plus license, is A Greener World Animal Welfare Approved, and undergoing transition into organic certification. There is a Northern Health approved commercial kitchen and a wash-pack station for vegetable
production located on-farm to support. Summer, and fall are the busy seasons with winter being a celebrated slowed rhythm on the farm. Whiskey Creek Ranch attends 1-2 markets/week during the busy season, and select markets throughout the remainder of the season. Whiskey Creek Ranch is part of a local, collaborative farmer-led initiative and is
active in growing and supporting local food production across a number of other local and provincial initiatives.
About the Apprenticeship
An apprentice would be an integral part of the farm— a constant contributor alongside Michelle and Gaston during the farm season in the field and all daily operations.
The apprentice will work alongside Michelle or Gaston, receiving training and helping to accomplish daily feeding/watering, livestock health checks, and fence moves. While the livestock are ‘touched’ daily during routine feeding and watering, there are other days where an apprentice will spend part of their day in the on-farm commercial kitchen producing value-add goods, preparing for and selling at local farmers markets, processing livestock (poultry), or helping to complete administrative tasks such as book keeping, regulatory reporting, etc.
While most of the week will be spent apprenticing at Whiskey Creek Ranch, apprentices will also have the opportunity to work at these nearby farms.
Pure Pasture Products, run by Rob and Bobbi-Jo Larson, spans 6,000 acres of diverse boreal forest and agricultural land, located about 20 minutes from Whiskey Creek Ranch. They raise lamb, goat, beef, hogs, and poultry using holistic and regenerative farming practices. Willow Lane Market Garden, located 45 minutes away on 160 acres, is run by first-generation farmers Dan and Nikki Crocker. This Zone 2a/2b market garden grows produce free of chemicals, sprays, pesticides, and synthetic inputs, both in-ground and in greenhouses.
Weekly tasks at all three farms will vary with the seasons, but apprentices can expect to help Nikki with market prep, transplanting, weeding, or planting succession crops. At Pure Pasture Products, apprentices may assist with processing or branding calves, herding sheep and lambs, or moving fences for their other livestock.
About the Farm Mentors:
Gaston (Gas) and Michelle Schaeffer are first generation farmers who moved to the North Peace in 2007. We have three young kids: Mikayla, Heidi, and Declan.
We purchased our farm in 2008, but didn’t start producing food for our community until 2015. Beginning with a small vegetable CSA, we soon began to offer hogs, beef, honey, eggs, and other value-added goods to our consumers.
Both Gas and Michelle work off-farm as soils and vegetation geeks; Michelle as a Professional Agrologist and Gas as a Reclamation Professional.
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.
| livestock welfare | holistic and Organic production systems |
|---|---|
| cover cropping | DIRECT to consumer MARKETING |
| rotational grazing | farmers market sales |
| preserved food production | livestock processing |
| community building | connecting with other farmers |
| animal handling | assessing forage and pasture |
| managing manure | pastured poultry systems |
Housing, Wage and Duration
We have several options for housing; (1) a private bedroom in the main house, (2) an RV or (3) a furnished wall tent. Depending on the room choice, the bathroom is either shared or private. All bathroom options have a tub/shower and running water. Cooking is in the main house and is the main kitchen. All dwellings are four-season.
Part of the apprenticeship arrangement can include all on-farm meals with food primarily from the farm. Shared laundry, shared internet, shared vehicle (if applicable and with acceptable abstract).
The apprenticeship will run May 1- September 30, though exact dates are negotiable. the pay will be $18/hr and the apprentice will work approx. 30 hours per week.
About the Community
Rose Prairie is a small, unincorporated rural community located approximately 30 minutes north of Fort St John. A post office, a community hall, an elementary school (K-8), and two churches form the unofficial centre of this small, agricultural community.
Fort St John, dubbed a livable winter city and commonly referred to as the “Energetic City”, is the nearest larger city (2021 pop of 21,465) and has all of the amenities a larger city centre can offer; shopping, pool, inside walk/run track, multiple ice surfaces for winter sports, trails, markets, community forests, a college, art gallery, cultural centre, library, etc.
It is 45 minutes from Dawson Creek, BC (mile 0 of the world famous Alaska Highway) and 2.5 hours from the larger city of Grande Prairie (AB).
Be sure to check out Whiskey Creek Ranch on social media and the world wide web!
More Details about this Apprenticeship and How to Apply
Application deadline January 31, 2025.
Interested in an Apprenticeship but this isn’t quite the right one? Check out other Young Agrarians Apprenticeships being offered in 2025 here.