Organic Career Network
Organic Career Network
On a broad level, entry into the agriculture industry often begins with post-secondary education, where future producers, traders, and leaders are created. Research has shown that Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students are severely underrepresented in agriculture and agricultural education (Hartmann & Martin, 2021). While diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) continues to be a topic of conversation across the workforce, the development of support throughout the career pipeline has been slow and inconsistent.
A critical piece to increasing diversity in the organic sector includes supporting the exploration of career opportunities in the industry. In order to support these efforts, OFA has created the Organic Career Network (OCN) which connects organic organizations to historically underserved and represented students who are interested in exploring career pathways in the organic industry. The OCN aims to provide students with the opportunity to get hands-on experience with organic certification, inspection, and farmer education organizations and agencies.
In recognition that navigating higher education and career exploration can be an isolating experience for students new to the process, OCN is designed as a cohort model to foster a sense of community among students across their internship placements. The cohort will meet monthly with OFA project lead, Ryann Monteiro.
Fall 2023 Internship Hosts
Organic Farming Research Foundation
OFRF is currently seeking two (2) remote interns for the Fall 2023 semester:
Compensation: This internship is open to undergraduate and graduate students. For undergraduate level students, the pay is $15/hour. For graduate level students, the pay is $18/hour.
For more information and instructions on how to apply, please select the internship you are interested in.
Organic Farmers Association
OFA is currently seeking one remote intern to work 10-15 hours per week. This opportunity will focus on our efforts to expand diversity and inclusion within the organic farming community. The goal of this internship is to improve outreach to farmers interested in organic practices, organic transition and organic certification, build leadership capacity within OFA’s membership to better participate in the national grassroots policy process and increase knowledge of policy issues. Read the full internship description here.
Compensation: This internship is open to undergraduate and graduate students. For undergraduate level students, the pay is $15/hour. For graduate level students, the pay is $18/hour.
To Apply: Send a cover letter and resume to ryann@organicfarmersassociation.org with the subject line: INTERNSHIP APPLICATION – FALL 2023. This position will be open until filled.
Host an Intern for Spring 2023
OFA recognizes that hosting an intern is often time and resource intensive, especially for organizations with a very small staff. Acknowledging this challenge, the Organic Career Network supports host organizations a flat rate stipend to help subsidize the administrative and employee time-cost of hosting an intern.
Priority will be given to organizations that are:
- Serving organic curious, transitioning and/or certified organic farmers
- BIPOC-led and/or BIPOC-serving
- Have an demonstrated commitment to racial equity