Are you an aspiring farmer looking to gain experience on a certified organic market garden farm? Are you wanting to learn about growing over 50 varieties of veggies?! Grey Arrow Farm is offering an apprenticeship at their slice of farming paradise; join their team!
About the Farm
Grey Arrow Farm is a young family farm. Andrea and Denis, along with their five children, are growing clean, healthy produce for their CSA, restaurants, and community in Camrose, Alberta. They grow approximately 55 types of vegetables and herbs over 2.5 acres of cultivated land on their beautiful 35 acre oasis in the Alberta prairies. They are situated on a serene lake, with paths and forest groves, and a Saskatoon berry orchard to enjoy. Their farm is just a 10 minutes drive to Camrose and a 45 minute drive to the city of Edmonton. They are partnered with a number of local artisan coffee shops and businesses (in both Camrose and Edmonton) where they distribute their produce bundles to their members each week. They have developed their program over the last seven years to be an invested local food experience.
Be sure to check out Grey Arrow Farm on social media and the world wide web!
About the Apprenticeship
From Andrea and Denis:
“Our goal at Grey Arrow Farm is to steward the land, cultivate connection, inspire a love for good food, and to feed our local community. We are grateful we get to do so!”
An apprentice (single or a couple) would be an integral part of the farm— a constant contributor alongside Andrea and Denis during the farm season (6 month season) in the field and all daily operations.
The apprentice would work alongside Andrea and Denis, receiving training and helping to accomplish:
- prepping the fields
- applying compost teas and organic preparations
- seeding and transplanting
- laying tarps and irrigation
- helping put up high tunnels (makeshift greenhouses)
- trellising + pruning -weeding (using hoes, hands, small machinery, and flame; sometimes -working alone, sometimes alongside Andrea and Denis and the kids/other employees)
- harvesting produce
- washing, packing produce
- curing vegetables for storage
- field cleanup at the end of growing season
- harvesting, packing up, and storing vegetables for the winter
As this is a CSA farm, apprentice will also be helping directly with the CSA program, which involves:
- packing weekly veggie boxes
- assisting with drop-offs
- assisting in hosting weekly Garden Time evenings with CSA members. Members come and get their hands dirty in the garden for 3 hours, learning how their food is grown, and helping to conquer the workload (having confidence, enthusiasm, and being sociable are necessary elements because of this on Grey Arrow Farm!)
Additional tasks that may be required:
- tractor mowing around the farm
- helping with property upkeep
Bonus additions Andrea and Denis are happy to teach if apprentice has interest in learning:
- Farm marketing
- developing a customer base
- on-boarding your community
- Creating a kick-ass CSA program
- Networking and creating partnerships to further your farm
As part of the apprenticeship, you will meet with other apprentices across Alberta who are part of the Young Agrarians Apprenticeship program. Field days, learning opportunities and potlucks will be planned with this group at each host’s farm.
About the Farm Mentors:
Meet Denis and Andrea. Farmers, food lovers, parents of five (aged 12-19). Denis grew up on an organic vegetable farm and has long held a passion for stewarding the land and growing good food for good people. Andrea joined him in his passion, marrying in her own love of photography, marketing, design, influencing, and hospitality. Together they started Grey Arrow Farm (in 2016) and continue to enjoy growing and cultivating it into a staple farm in their community.
The main mentor on the farm would be Denis, though both Andrea and Denis work the farm and are skilled with all the jobs around the property. Primary roles on the farm are:
Denis- Head farmer, Field + operations manager, Garden Time coordinator
Andrea- Office administrator, Farm marketing + partnerships, CSA program coordinator, Customer relations, Content creator.
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.
| Certified organic vegetable production | market gardening |
|---|---|
| garden + field prep | DIRECT MARKETING – csa/restaurants |
| compost tea + organic preparations | harvesting/washing/packing produce |
| seeding + transplanting | winter vegetable storage |
| irrigation | winter field preparation |
| building + growing in high tunnels | tractor operation |
| trellising + pruning | Weeding using hands/hand tools/small machinery |
Housing, Wages, and Duration
This is a 6 month apprenticeship, beginning in May and wrapping up in October.
Apprentices will reside in a cozy, cabin-style bunkhouse on the property. Cabin features a comfortable queen-size bed, two loft beds, relaxed + comfortable seating, wifi, soft lighting, dining nook, kitchen area, shelves for storage, with beautiful front porch views looking out at the lake, and tree-lined garden. Clean compostable toilet outhouse is just a few steps from the cabin, in addition to a hot water outdoor shower. Cooking utilities include a small convection oven, single burner, and microwave, along with a refrigerator. Equipment, dishes, and supplies are provided for you. You are free to help yourself to all the lovely garden produce during your time here, and invited to join in regular shared dinners with the family as well.
The apprentice will be paid $600/week (based on a 40h work week). Cost for room and board is $400/month.
Apprentice Requirements
Drivers license (may be required to drive the delivery van from time to time)
Able to be friendly/sociable with confidence + enthusiasm (for leading weekly small groups of CSA members in simple garden tasks— don’t worry, you will be trained first!)
Able to work independently
About the Community
Life itself on Grey Arrow Farm is relaxed and peaceful, even when labouring out in the sunshine. Morning kayaks, evening campfires, incredible sunsets, and plenty of space to roam and enjoy makes it easy to feel like you have found yourself in a small paradise.
The town of Camrose, (located 10 minute drive away), is fully serviced and brimming with amenities— lovely parks with beautiful walking trails (cross-country skiing in the winter), shopping + grocery stores, library, movie theatre, restaurants, local coffee shops, swimming pool/rec centre (skating rink), boutique shopping, and UofA university campus.
Camrose hosts two large festivals each summer:
AUGUST—‘Big Valley Jamboree’ (Renowned country music festival featuring some of Nashville’s biggest stars)
JUNE—‘Jaywalkers Jamboree’ (A two day festival that transforms downtown Camrose into a hopping hub of street foods, fair rides, music and entertainment. Alberta’s oldest outdoor fair!)
The city of Edmonton is a 45 minute drive from the farm, with even more amenities, arts, festivals, entertainment, shopping, and food experiences to take in. Denis and Andrea can offer plenty of recommendations for things to see and do!
This farm is located on Treaty 6 land. Andrea and Denis aim to take care of the land in a way that recognizes the value the land has to them, others that have used the land before them, and those that may use the land after. They feel blessed to be located on the land they are on and feel the responsibility to be the caretakers of it.
More Details about this Apprenticeship and How to Apply
Application due: January 31, 2025.
Interested in an Apprenticeship but this isn’t quite the right one? Check out other Young Agrarians Alberta Apprenticeships being offered in 2025 here.
Hey guys, really love what you are doing at your farm. I dont know that im interested in the traditional “intern” experience that young agrarians is connected people to you for but i am interested in setting up my own farm venture in the near future and would love to gain some experience and knowledge from your farm. I would not be looking for any compensation and would bring a passion for regenerative farming along with a strong work ethic and ability to be a brand ambassador for your farm. I am still currently in a career that leaves me with ample time in the spring and summer season. My availability changes as projects come to fruition in my current industry so committing to a certain tenure at your farm can be difficult. If free labor from an individual whose passionate about how you farm and a willingness to give his all to gain knowledge from your operation is something that appeals to you then i would love to hear from you and see if we can find a fit. Thank you for any and all of your time, Adam
Hi Adam,
Thanks so much for your comment. You can contact Grey Arrow Farm directly via their website here: http://greyarrowfarm.ca/contact-us-2/
I’m not sure if they will see your comment here.
Hope something works out! Be in touch if we can be of assistance. Also check out our UMAP at maps.youngagrarians.org for more farms you might want to check out near you 🙂
Cheers,
Michi