Ridgemeade offers two different educational opportunities:

• 5-MONTH SUMMER STEWARDSHIP
  Open for six to nine persons only. Interested individuals should email info@ridgemeadefarm.com

• FULL-TIME ONE-YEAR RIDGEMEADE MASTER PROGRAM*
  Open to two hand-picked summer stewards (a choice not based on gender).

*Ridgemeade requires completion of the summer stewardship program to be qualified for the one-year Masters Program.

Application Process:

• Email us (address link will be active August 1, 2023) from August 1 to August 11 with your full name, a little about yourself and ask for the Ridgemeade Stewardship Questionnaire/Application.

• Fill out the questionnaire and email it back to us by August 18. The application will require you to submit a less-than-two-minute video answer to one of the questions.

• We read all questionnaires and then contact our picks (by or on September 22) to schedule the two-day checkout date (dates pending but most likely during the week of November 30-December 9, 2023, no exceptions, no alternate dates).

*Applications not accepted at any other time during the year.*

Please read over the following information very carefully before sending your email.

Ridgemeade Summer Stewardship

Spend a summer with us and leave years ahead, or stay on to move up in the Ridgemeade team.

MAY 1-SEPTEMBER 30 (NO EXCEPTIONS)

Over the summer you will learn the broiler (meat bird) operation of Ridgemeade, inside and out, start to finish. You can achieve mastery in raising, processing, cutting up, packing, finances, and marketing of pastured poultry.

Other learning opportunities can include:

Attending on farm workshops and tours for free

At least two teaching lectures from Blake

A suite of spreadsheets and documentation for those interested in starting their own farms or collaborating with Ridgemeade.

Movement, care and husbandry of a variety of the following livestock: Layers, pigs, Sheep, turkeys, cows, pigs, cut-flowers, market garden, and more.

Ridgemeade is looking for a few good farmers! If you are looking to become a farmer and don’t have farming, land, or skill in your background then spending a summer at Ridgemeade is the place for you.

• We are looking for team members that are willing to serve, full of ambition, self-starting, eager to learn and work, situationally aware, sweat all day, teachable, positive, non-complaining, grateful, rejoicing, dependable, faithful, perseverant, take-responsibility, well groomed, good hygiene men and woman of sound characters. This is not for the faint of heart. This is hands on, in the dirt, blood, and mud, real-life stuff.

• These folks become like family - you’ll be pushed, challenged to the brink, as well as loved to the end of the earth. With access to the Ragghianti family for years to come for advice, farms to run and or rent, meet leaders in the field of farming and cheered on for years to come.

• Must be at least 18 years of age at start of internship.

• Required time is May 1-Sept. 30.

• Work 5 days per week. Sundays are usually chores only and Saturdays are minimal.

• Room and most board provided and you can eat, within reason, from the Ridgemeade larder (no filet mignon lunches, please). Prepare your own breakfast and lunch in the Bunkhouse. Evening meals Monday-Friday provided communally, often with the Ragghianti’s. Accommodations include a full kitchen, bath, and bunk-style sleeping quarters in the original farmhouse.

• Quarters do not include phone or internet.

• Stipend of $100 per month for incidentals. Ridgemeade invests heavily into our volunteers’ physical, emotional, and psychological needs; it’s the most education for the money you’ll ever receive.

• Warning: you will be sore, ache, dead tired, and might even be sick for 3 days in your first two weeks. Once you get acclimated, you’ll be more physically fit than you’ve ever been in your life. But it won’t feel good getting there.

• 2-3 steward positions open due to accommodation and work limitations. 1 annual apprenticeship position open.

• This learning opportunity is not suited for families with children. Unfortunately, we cannot accept any families to live or work together on farm. Married individuals are welcome to apply, but their spouses and children will need to find accommodations elsewhere.

• Due to immigration regulatory hurdles, we regret that we cannot extend this opportunity to non-US citizens.

Ridgemeade Masters Apprenticeship

• Applicants must commit to a 12-month stay and are chosen by the Ragghianti Family from stewards after two months of the summer stewardship.

• Choice will be made based on performance, attitude and Ridgemeade’s best interest, not on gender or any other demographic factor.

• Start and end October 15, with 2 weeks break in between summer stewardship and masters.

• Room and board provided. Breakfast and lunch on your own; evening meals with the Ragghianti Family (Optional but encouraged).

• One per year.

• Compensation package rivals starting white collar salaries for our area.

• Manage and lead the interns.

• Further education opportunities within the masters program may include Cattle handling, fence setup and design, Keyline Design, advanced farm planning, legal matters, accounting, winter animal care and housing (layers, rabbits, cows, pigs, etc), forestry, customer interaction and much more.

Beyond

Depending on needs and opportunities, Ridgemeade offers various team spots for full employment, subcontracting or symbiotic entrepreneurship. Although the opportunities continue to evolve, they all start with the internship. .