Photo by Jens Gerbitz . 2018 Farm Apprentice Karel and Rusty on the Farm
Are you an aspiring farmer, rancher or grazier looking to gain the hands-on skills and experience? Are you feeling like you’re not quite ready to start your own business yet but want to keep the dream moving along? Retail Farms is excited to offer a meaningful apprenticeship to help you on your farming journey.
About the Farm
Redtail Farms is located 3 kilometers south of Castor, Alberta, on a rich mix of rejuvenated grasslands and wetlands. Ian Griebel and Dana Blume (young farmers themselves) are building on the legacy of Ian’s parents, Kathy Charpentier and Richard Griebel, who had a pioneering vision for healing both land and people through nutrient dense food. Through the production and distribution of our local, sustainable meats include beef and pork, Redtail farms sees itself as an intermediary between resilient ecological systems and healthy communities and families.
About the Apprenticeship
This apprenticeship will provide experience and skills in rotational grazing management and animal husbandry with cattle and pigs. As part of this, you will learn about planning, implementing and monitoring grazing systems. Using rotational and intensive grazing techniques this farm aims to mimic the bison in ways that support ecological rejuvenation. As such, you will learn about assessing forage quality and setting up electric fencing systems. These skills will also be developed for managing pigs on pasture and in the winter.
Retail Farms will also expose you to Holistic Management and principles of regenerative agriculture. You will learn about the principles of building soil and managing water. You will also learn about direct marketing from the field to butcher shop to delivery to the customer.
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 hosts farm. You will be provided with a learning fund to support travel or other learning opportunities you wish to pursue. You will also be invited to attend the 2018 Organic Alberta Conference .
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 to a learning plan with the host farm.
| LIVESTOCK HUSBANDRY | MANAGING cattle |
|---|---|
| LIVESTOCK HEALTH | ROTATIONAL GRAZING |
| LOW STRESS LIVESTOCK HANDLING | bale grazing |
| Managing pigs | calving |
| farrowing | operating farm equipment |
| fencing | DIRECT MARKETING |
Housing, Stipend and Duration
In the summer, the apprentice will live in separate housing and in the winter in the main farmhouse. A minimal to moderate stipend will be paid depending on length of stay and expertise. This Apprenticeship is 1 year long.
About the Community
Castor is a thriving small town that has full services and is an hour and a half east of Red Deer. There is a pool, yoga, and fitness classes.
Past Apprenticeships
What did the 2017 apprentice experience at Redtail Farms? Read here.
More Details about this Apprenticeship and How to Apply
Deadline February 28, 2019.
Interested in an Apprenticeship but this isn’t quite the right one? Check out other Young Agrarians Alberta Apprenticeships being offered in 2019 here.