The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry has approved the first formal apprenticeship program for vegetable farmers in the state.

Developed by the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA), the Diversified Vegetable Apprenticeship provides a guided pathway for aspiring vegetable farmers to manage or start a farm while also meeting the employment needs of established farms.

During a time when 75% of beginning and aspiring farmers under the age of 40 in the U.S. did not grow up on a farm, farmer training programs are more important than ever. Without the traditional transfer of knowledge between parents and children, aspiring farmers need hands-on opportunities to learn the intricacies of stewarding land, tending crops and running a financially viable business.

Apprenticeship is a tried-and-true model of learning that has trained workers for careers in skilled trades for centuries. Today, a diverse array of state and federally registered apprenticeships are available for more than 1,000 occupations, from carpentry and plumbing to dentistry and computer programming.

Yet, none existed for farmers until 2011 when a group of dairy farmers in Wisconsin founded Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship to help stem the tide of farmland loss and introduce a new generation to dairy grazing. PASA partnered with Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship in 2016 to administer the national program in Pennsylvania and nearby states, and soon thereafter began developing a companion apprenticeship for vegetable farmers.

“We worked with an instructional design expert, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, and beginning and seasoned farmers from 19 of our member farms to build the curriculum from the ground up,” says Dan Dalton, manager of Diversified Vegetable Apprenticeship.

The curriculum trains apprentices in core competencies, from soil fertility and irrigation to marketing and business administration. Apprentices receive more than 2,700 hours of on-the-job training at an established farm and complete more than 200 hours of related technical instruction over the course of two seasons. Plus, apprentices are paid an hourly wage that increases as they advance their skills.

While the program is designed to cultivate new farmers, it’s also designed to benefit farm owners and operators with skilled and reliable workers. Approved host farms can access a pool of prequalified apprentice candidates who are invested in farming as a career.

VEGETABLE APPRENTICE: The program provides a path for aspiring veggie farmers to manage or start a farm while providing labor for a more established farm.

“We want to make sure that the program meets both the training needs of the apprentices as well as the labor needs of the farmers who host them,” Dalton says. “We provide ongoing support by monitoring the progress apprentices and host farmers make as they work through the 18-month curriculum, and provide additional resources as needed.”

“This is a major milestone in ushering in the next generation of Pennsylvania’s farmers,” says Hannah Smith-Brubaker, executive director of PASA, who also co-owns and operates an organic vegetable farm with her family in Mifflintown, Pa. “After completing a state-registered apprenticeship, graduates will be able to clearly demonstrate their competencies, better positioning them for work in the field, and accessing capital and land opportunities.”

The program is funded by the Hillman Foundation and more than 100 business and individual donors who invested in the program’s curriculum development process as part of a fundraising campaign.

Learn more at pasafarming.org.

Source: PASA, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.