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

Internship description

There are a wide range of duties and activities for this position, depending on the daily needs of the farm. The Lund Fellow will be working alongside the farm director and student interns. Some of the activities are, but not limited to:

• Greenhouse management – daily watering of seedlings, weekly seeding, and general crop maintenance
• Transplanting and direct seeding of a wide range of annual vegetables
• Harvest and post-harvest handling of vegetables 
• Cultivation of vegetables with hand tools
• Bed preparation
• Marketing opportunities – assist with CSA pickups and on-farm seedling sales (depending on start date)

 The farm focuses on learning efficiency of various farm tasks, while enjoying growing healthy food for our community.

Basic Qualifications and Preferred Experience

• Some prior farm or gardening experience is preferred, but not required. We are a teaching farm! 
• The ideal candidate will have an open mind, experience working with people from different backgrounds and lived experiences, open to constructive feedback, a positive attitude (especially on hot days 😉), and a strong work ethic. 
• The candidate should be prepared to work in varied conditions, from rain to long hours in the sun.
• Ability to lift 40 to 50 lbs.

Internship schedule 

The TC3 Farm embraces a healthy work/life balance. The typical work week is M-F from 9-5, but there is room for flexibility in that schedule. Weekend work is not required, but may be needed occasionally.  

About the farm

The TC3 Farm is a small-scale diversified vegetable farm in Dryden, NY. The farm directly supports the Sustainable Farming and Food Systems program at Tompkins Cortland Community College. The farm’s main marketing channel is a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), but it also sells its products to campus dining, the Panther Pantry, as well as seedling sales for home gardeners at the beginning of the growing season. The farm is not certified organic, but adheres to USDA Organic standards. We take an ecological approach to our farming practices. Students enrolled in the Sustainable Farming and Food Systems degree spend a full growing season on the farm, starting in January, and supporting the farm’s daily operation. The farm has one heated greenhouse, three high tunnels, and fields for growing crops.

NOTE: The farm is not located on a bus route, so transportation is needed. Housing is not provided, and smoking of any kind is not allowed on the farm property