The Lund Fellows Program for Regenerative Agriculture provides Cornell undergraduate students across disciplines with the opportunity to broaden their perspectives and understanding of natural ecosystems and to learn about ecological and social approaches to agricultural systems. 

The Lund Fellows Program provides students opportunities to gain applied experience working on an agroecological farm and contribute to the farm in meaningful and helpful ways, while learning about the process and considerations involved in managing such an enterprise.

We work to spread awareness about the value and mission of agroecological biodynamic, organic, regenerative, and sustainable approaches to farming, strengthen relationships between the university and local farms and provide assistance to small farms that could not otherwise fund summer internships. 

Host farms participating in the Lund Fellows Program were prioritized based on the following values:  

• Explicitly uses agroecological, biodynamic and/or organic farming methods
• Diversified farm (not just certified organic with industrial farming approach)
• Small-scale farm (less than 200 hectares)
• Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) farmers when possible

Position description: 

• Intern would participate in hand-tool scale diversified vegetable production, from seeding to harvest, along with some exposure to grain production and animal care (goats and poultry).
• Assisting with record keeping for farm management, production, and post-harvest handling
• Help with inventory management, direct farm sales, and connecting with the farm’s diverse local customer base.

Basic qualifications and preferred experience

Required:

• commitment to the farm mission of Rocky Acres Community Farm
• familiarity with / background in food systems and food justice
• should have own transportation to farm
• able to work independently and as part of a team

Preferred:

• Some background in animal husbandry/livestock care
• Some experience in vegetable production
• Understanding of agroecological production methods

Internship schedule

8-10 weeks, with the days and hours agreed upon by the host farm and intern.

Some days the work day will be longer due to farming conditions but will be adjusted so that total number of hours does not exceed requirements.

About the farm

The Rocky Farms Community Farm in Freeville, NY is a 10-acre farm (and growing) that focuses on education and the sustainable production of local vegetables, eggs, and meat for low-resourced communities. It combines the knowledge and spirit of social justice with the transformative healing aspects of nature and agriculture to promote equity in both urban and rural food systems.