The Polyface Stewards.  That's who.  Here on the farm, we have numerous rites of passage during the season.  In the late winter, arrival of the first broiler chicks is a sign that spring is just around the corner.

             In early spring, it's turning cows out on pasture, shifting from hay to fresh grass.  That of course starts the pigaerating process for compost.  At the same time, the layers exit their winter quarters (hoop houses) and return to pasture either in Eggmobiles or Millenium Feathernets. 

             The final big event is May 1 when the new group of Stewards arrives.  These 11 young people from all across the nation started their process last August 1, when we opened our website for queries.  We choose about 40 to come for a two-day checkout usually in late October and early November and then we make our final picks from that group.

             This year we've renamed the program the Polyface Farm Boot Camp.  Most of them are here already; the rest are arriving today.  Our first official greeting celebration meal is Friday evening with Saturday devoted to orientation and work beginning Monday.

             People who assume these Stewards are just cheap labor have no idea the risk they pose nor the investment Polyface puts into them.  To bring a bunch of greenhorns, some of whom literally have never been on a farm, into a for-profit hard-driving situation could be seen as foolhardy.  But we know of no better way to get a comprehensive farming experience than complete immersion.

             We've learned and refined the program over the years; this year represents one of the big refinement steps.  In addition to the name change, we've created audit cards, a competency check list, reading requirements and other materials to enhance success.  We've been running the apprenticeship program now for about 25 years so we've seen a few things and learned a few things.

             Much has changed.  We didn't have smart phones back then, or ear buds.  All of these technological changes require new protocols.  Getting the team, from different ages and backgrounds, to meld into a cohesive unit quickly and to embrace our Polyface vision and mission is the big challenge.  Each group, just like a classroom, has its own personality.

             As a farm staff, we enter this season with roller coaster emotions, knowing we'll have some incredibly wonderful experiences and probably some serious challenges.  But it's always a treat to bask in the enthusiasm and can-do spirit of these young people.  What we've done for a lifetime and often don't appreciate due to routinization, these young people will embrace with exclamations of "you mean I get to gather eggs?  How cool is that?" 

             As farmers, enjoying that enthusiasm, that fresh appreciation for what may seem hum-drum to us, is one of the biggest paybacks of the apprenticeship program.  Knowing we've germinated young farmers all over the world drives us to once again

go through orientation, protocols, and standard operating procedures . . . happily and eagerly.  The results are all worth it.

             Have you ever done any kind of apprenticeship?