Nella Mae’s FarM
1 APPRENTICESHIP
FULL TIME (30-40 hours/week)
APPROX START/END DATES: April - October
$17/HR
LOCATION: Cove (Satellite Farm)
YEARS IN PRODUCTION: 12
PREVIOUS YEARS HOSTING: 2
PRACTICES: Low-till, Rotational Grazing, Winter Farming
ACRES IN CULTIVATION: 1/2 Vegetables, 15 Pasture
Vegetable Production, Meat Production
ON-FARM HOUSING? No
VEHICLE REQUIRED? Yes
LANGUAGES SPOKEN: English, Spanish
Women-Owned/Operated, BIPOC-Owned/Operated, LGBTQIA2s+-Owned/Operated
Nella Mae’s Farm is a high desert produce farm managed with low-till, regenerative, and holistic practices at the base of the Wallowa Mountains in northeast Oregon. Nella Mae’s philosophy is influenced primarily by Holistic Management, Lean Farming, and soil science. The farm’s purpose is to feed our community, steward soil, and enhance the well being of the land and those who tend it.
FARM OVERVIEW
Nella Mae’s Farm is just outside the “city” of Cove, population 500. Cove is on the east side of the Grande Ronde Valley, population 26,000, one of the largest round valleys in the world. While this is technically high desert, the snow melt, rivers and a high water table make this place rich for agriculture. We also face a short spring, extreme temperature swings in the summer, and increasingly variable weather. We are learning to adapt every year.
Most of the farms in the valley are hundreds or thousands of acres and grow grass, grains and sunflowers for seed, alfalfa, mint, and sugar beets. There is a healthy number of small-scale farms growing meat, produce, and nursery crops, and our small group of small farms is mutually supportive and highly collaborative. We have a huge amount of support locally large and small, as well as fellow business owners, customers, and neighbors as we have grown the farm. We look forward to enhancing an Apprentice’s experience at the farm through sharing experiences with her own mentors and farmer friends.
The farm also raises a few beef for market with a neighbor.
Produce sells at the on-farm farmstand, the La Grande Farmers Market, several retail outlets, one CSA, the local and regional food banks, and restaurants in two counties.
The farm crew is small and tight-knit. We have a friendly, fun crew and focus on collaboration, teamwork, improving systems together, and eating well. Nella Mae cooks lunch for the crew every harvest day (Tuesday and Friday.)
2025 will be the 12th season of Nella Mae’s Farm, but she grew up on her family’s farm and started selling at the La Grande Farmers Market when she was 10 years old. However, due to the difficulty of farming, she was encouraged to leave agriculture behind and go to college. Her return to agriculture was a surprise to everyone, and was made possible by the local food movement of the 2000’s.
2025 adds Samirah Miller as a farming partner at Nella Mae’s Farm. Samirah is a past RFC Apprentice who just completed her masters in Regenerative Agriculture. She also has a masters in nutrition.
Samirah also hails from the desert west, Arizona, where she worked on several farms before coming to eastern Oregon. Samirah’s holistic approach to health and sustainability is an inspiration to those around her, as she strives to make the world a healthier, more sustainable place. She has focused on adding winter farming and flowers into the mix at Nella Mae’s Farm.
TRAINING AND EXPECTATION
Skills taught at the farm include seed starting, transplanting, direct seeding, harvesting, produce processing, marketing, use of equipment, farm business management skills, sales, and customer service.
An Apprentice at the farm will have the opportunity to go as deep as they are interested in learning marketing, business, and staff management as well as the best practices on propagation, harvest, food safety, soil care, irrigation, plumbing, light construction, and the importance of developing a farm network.
Apprentice will generally work 6 hour days 4-5 days per week.
Time off is flexible with one or two weeks’ notice.
Heavy exertion is typical with farm work. Most work is done by hand. Carrying boxes of produce, tough work such as post pounding or broad forking, and working in hot and cold conditions is typical.
Training is integrated into work. Teaching and farming are linked in every activity on the farm. We take hour-long lunches to discuss finances, bookkeeping, no-till practices, etc. Every day at lunch is our check-in time. The rest of the training happens each morning as we plan out the day together, walk the fields, and review best practices. Discussion happens in real time while we work together. Nella Mae works side by side with others on the farm for 80-90 percent of the day and talks in depth about ag practices, books, why we do things the way we do them, and how we got here.
Nella Mae and Samirah love to discuss big ideas and are very involved in the policy and politics of agriculture, social justice, natural resources, and rural places.
Fingers crossed that Apprentices will find us funny because we love to laugh while we work. :)
We always put hoes down to visit with neighbors who stop by and learn from elders in the neighborhood.
We also host outdoor schools and class visits several times per year at the farm, so we have the opportunity to teach and learn from kiddos.
QUALIFICATIONS
We are looking for a hard-working, self-motivated person who is able to communicate in a timely, and direct manner. Most important is someone who is curious, thinks deeply, asks questions, problem solves, and helps the farm improve by giving feedback and utilizing their human creativity. An Apprentice must be able to work quickly and deftly with their hands.
We are happy to host Apprentices with no gardening or ag experience. We are looking for an Apprentice who is interested in plants and has some demonstrable experience doing physical labor.
Attention to detail and adherence to our food safety procedures is critical. Applicants should be ready for physical work and to lift 30 lbs regularly. They should also be able to work outside in all weather conditions from rain to heat. We invite a person of any skill level to apply for as long as they are excited to learn about farming and work outside.
Due to our very rural location, the Apprentice should have their own reliable transportation.
An in-person visit is not required before a final placement decision is made but candidates may visit if they like.
COMPENSATION / ACCOMMODATIONS
Compensation is $17/hour plus reimbursement of RFC tuition if/when the season is completed. This additional benefit works out to an equivalent of about $18/hour. Apprentices get all the produce they can eat and preserve, use of farm kitchen for food/preservation projects, a very flexible schedule for time off, hot lunch on harvest days, and use of farm library.
No on-farm housing is available, but the nearest town, La Grande, is a college town (Eastern Oregon University.) Summer rentals are available. Rentals in Union, Oregon, 10 miles away, may also be available.
EQUITY AND INCLUSION
Equity, inclusion, anti-racism, and feminism are guiding principles in how Nella Mae and Samirah live their lives, run the farm, and operate the business. Understanding their own privilege, checking it, and ensuring that they are sharing knowledge and resources with new and beginning farmers is paramount to what they do.
PAST APPRENTICE TESTIMONIALS
Samirah says: ” Working with Nella Mae at Nella Mae's Farm has been an inspiring and transformative experience. Nella’s commitment to innovative farming practices and community engagement has profoundly shaped my approach to sustainable agriculture. This year, I am thrilled to continue as a farming partner, co-leading collaborative projects that focus on food security, community education, flowers and regenerative practices. Nella’s mentorship and dedication to fostering growth both in the field and within people have been invaluable, and I look forward to building on this foundation in the coming season!” -2024
Nella Mae
Samirah