Should You Have Interns on Your Small-Scale Farm? What to Know Before You Start
By Jonathan Dysinger and John Dysinger
Updated on
Show Transcript
0:00Hi guys, Jonathan here and I'm with my dad John at Bountif Blessings Farm. And this morning we wanted to talk about a topic that dad knows a lot about which
0:08is interns and volunteer help on your farm. What are the challenges with that and what are ways you can kind of run a
0:17successful internship program? You guys over the years have had dozens of interns and so let's talk about that a little bit. How can you use interns? How
0:25do how have you used that and leveraged it, I guess, to benefit the farm? Or has it? Well, I I think it's it's important
0:34to ask yourself why you want to have interns or volunteers. And I think
0:40probably the most common answer is cheap labor. And I think that's the wrong
0:48answer. If you're looking for cheap labor, you're better off with a few
0:55well-trained employees. And I I can say that from experience. Um, so you have to go into
1:04it with the right attitude. If the reason you want interns or volunteers is because you have a passion and a heart
1:11to train up the next generation of farmers, I think that's the right reason
1:17for having them. And uh that changes a lot of things. You know, you it's just
1:25not a good business model as far as uh running a profitable market garden. Mhm.
1:34But having said that, I think that um our internship program has benefited us
1:42overall. Yeah. you know, but but you just have to think of the investment you're putting into these interns. You
1:49know, we spend a lot of time in class and we spend a lot of time training and just at the point that
1:59they're well trained, the internship is over. You've had a number of interns that have turned into longer term paid
2:08employees for year, two year, three years sometimes. So, that's probably one of the benefits that has come from it.
2:15Um, but it's a great vetting process for Yeah. for full-time employees. Yeah.
2:21Besides, uh, two spouses for your kids and a third one, uh, in the process
2:28potential. So, that maybe time to shut down the program now. But, uh, no, I mean, there's been a lot of good, but I mean, I'm sure there's a lot of stories.
2:38I mean, I remember interns, you know, flipping the tractor and, you know,
2:42destroying crops. Not nothing intentional, obviously, but you just have unskilled, you know, sometimes
2:49completely green to living in the country or doing anything manual and, you know, it can it can get interesting.
2:58So, I think it's a good thing to to point out. Don't do it just to try to get free labor or cheap labor. you have
3:08to think about it from that missional uh perspective and that's one of the things I appreciate about you guys and how you run the farm is not just about
3:16profit and money. It's about you know inspiring other people. So uh we appreciate that and thanks for taking
3:23time to share with our viewers uh tips and tricks. Anything else? Yeah, just a couple things. Number one, I highly
3:32recommend this book called Fields of Farmers: Interning, Mentoring, Partnering, Germinating by Joel Salatin.
3:41I I consider this a must readad if you're thinking about internships. Um, and two big points from
3:50the book are number one, don't house them in your house. They need to have separate housing. Number two, share a
3:59common meal together every day. With those two things, I think are are super important. You're trying to build a community. Yeah, that's awesome. Well,
4:09thanks for sharing. I hope that you found this information, these tips and tricks helpful, and stay tuned to our email newsletter for more videos like this in the future. Until next time,
4:19happy growing.
Don't start a farm internship program for cheap labor — you're better off with a few well-trained employees if that's the goal. The right reason to take on interns is a genuine desire to train the next generation of farmers. If you do start a program, read Joel Salatin's *Fields of Farmers* first, give interns separate housing (not in your house), and share a common meal together every day.
Over the years, Bountiful Blessings Farm has hosted dozens of interns. Some have been incredible. A few have flipped tractors and destroyed crops. Two became spouses for members of the family (with a potential third in the works). The program has been many things — but it has never been a reliable source of cheap labor.
If you're considering interns or volunteers on your market farm, my dad, John Dysinger, has one critical piece of advice before you start: ask yourself why you want them.
The Wrong Reason vs. the Right Reason
The most common reason farmers consider interns is cheap labor. My dad is blunt: that's the wrong reason, and it doesn't actually work as a business model.
Here's the reality of farm interns: you invest significant time training them — classroom instruction, hands-on teaching, constant supervision in the early weeks. Just when they're finally well-trained and productive, the internship is over. The math doesn't work if your primary motivation is getting work done at low cost. A few well-trained, paid employees will always be more efficient and more reliable than a rotating cast of beginners.
The right reason to have interns is a genuine passion for training the next generation of farmers. If that's your motivation, the program changes from a business calculation to a mission — and missions are worth the investment even when the math is tight.
That shift in mindset changes everything about how you structure the program, how you treat the interns, and how you measure success. You're not evaluating whether they earned their keep in hours of weeding. You're evaluating whether they left your farm better prepared to grow food.
Has the Internship Program Benefited Bountiful Blessings Farm?
Honestly? Yes — but not in the way most people would expect.
The direct labor contribution of interns is modest when you factor in training time. But the program has produced some genuine long-term benefits:
Vetting future employees. Several interns have transitioned into longer-term paid positions — one, two, even three years. The internship serves as an extended trial period where both sides figure out if it's a good fit. That's far more reliable than hiring someone cold.
Building community. The farm has become a hub for people passionate about growing food, and that network has value that's hard to quantify.
The occasional disaster. Interns have flipped tractors and accidentally destroyed crops. Nothing intentional, but when you're teaching people who are sometimes completely green to manual work and country living, things happen. You have to accept that as part of the deal.
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Two Essential Rules from Joel Salatin
If you're seriously considering an internship program, my dad's top recommendation is to read Joel Salatin's *Fields of Farmers: Interning, Mentoring, Partnering, Germinating* before you do anything else. Salatin has run one of the most successful farm internship programs in the country for decades, and the book is packed with hard-won wisdom.
Two points from the book that my dad considers essential:
1. Don't House Interns in Your Home
Give them separate housing. Living and working in the same space with the same people — with no physical boundary between work life and personal life — is a recipe for burnout and friction on both sides. Separate housing gives everyone space to decompress and maintain healthy boundaries.
2. Share a Common Meal Together Every Day
This is how you build community. A daily shared meal — even a simple one — creates a rhythm of connection that transforms a group of strangers working on a farm into a team. It's where relationships form, where questions get asked in a relaxed setting, and where the culture of your farm takes shape.
These two rules might seem contradictory — separate housing but shared meals — but together they create the right balance of togetherness and independence.
The Takeaway
A farm internship program can be deeply rewarding, but only if you go into it with the right expectations. It's not a labor strategy. It's a training and community-building investment.
If your motivation is mission-driven — training new farmers, building community, passing on knowledge — the program will enrich your farm in ways that go beyond the balance sheet. If your motivation is getting cheap help in the field, hire employees instead. You'll get better results and fewer flipped tractors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not as your primary labor strategy. Interns require significant training investment, and by the time they're fully productive, the internship typically ends. A few well-trained paid employees are more efficient and reliable. Internships work best when motivated by a desire to train new farmers, not to fill labor gaps.
Joel Salatin's Fields of Farmers: Interning, Mentoring, Partnering, Germinating is considered essential reading. It covers program structure, housing, community building, and the practical realities of mentoring beginning farmers on a working operation.
No. Provide separate housing so both you and the interns have boundaries between work and personal life. Living together in the same home leads to burnout and friction. Balance the separation with a shared daily meal to build community and maintain connection.
Yes — and this is one of the strongest benefits. The internship functions as an extended trial period where both sides evaluate the fit. Several Bountiful Blessings Farm interns have transitioned into one-to-three-year paid positions. It's a far more reliable hiring process than bringing on someone you've never worked with.