General Farm Worker (Livestock) and Ecological Ranger Apprentice

You will support Sam our stockman, and farm owner, Tom, in caring for the livestock and the land that sustains them.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Carry out daily checks of sheep, cattle, pigs and game birds, including feed, water, behaviour, condition and surroundings; promptly report illness, injury, distress or anything unusual
• Help with feeding, bedding, cleaning, housing and pasture management, maintaining high standards of animal welfare, hygiene and biosecurity
• Learn calm, safe livestock handling and movement. Assist with seasonal work, including lambing, calving and other husbandry tasks, at a level appropriate to your training
• Support grazing plans through stock moves, fencing and water checks, and observations of pasture condition, ground conditions and animal performance
• Help grade livestock and assess their condition, using these observations to inform management decisions
• Keep accurate livestock and husbandry records. Assist with weighing, identification, sampling and agreed health tasks under the Sam’s direction
• Helping design farm research needed to clarify and refine our management practice

Training will be work-based, 6 hours a week for college work.

There is the possibility of full-time employment upon successful completion of the apprenticeship.

Driving license essential; own transport preferred due to work place location.

Farming can be enormously rewarding, but it is not always easy or glamorous. This is a practical, physically demanding job, often undertaken outdoors in all weathers, with early starts, occasional late finishes and weekend work, particularly during lambing, calving and other busy periods. Animals need looking after every day, regardless of the weather or what else you might have planned. Some jobs are repetitive, muddy, dirty or simply hard work, and things do not always go according to plan. You will need to be adaptable, reliable, observant and willing to turn your hand to whatever needs doing. Good stockmanship requires patience, attention to detail and a genuine concern for animal welfare, including dealing with illness, injury and occasionally death. In return, you will have the satisfaction of doing something worthwhile, working closely with animals and the natural world, developing a wide range of skills and seeing the results of your efforts on the ground. We don't expect you to know everything when you arrive, but we do expect enthusiasm, a willingness to learn and a readiness to get stuck in. This job isn’t for everyone, but if it is right for you – then you shouldn’t be doing anything else!

Accommodation in a farm cottage is proposed as part of the role, with the terms to be confirmed subject to applicants, whether shared or a standalone cottage. You will be responsible for your own costs including council tax, but a room in the cottage, including farm-supplied water and biomass heating would be provided without charge.

Mindrum Farm is a 480-hectare mixed organic farm in the Cheviot foothills of North Northumberland. We run a substantial flock of breeding sheep and a suckler cattle herd alongside a diverse arable rotation, woodland, agroforestry, pigs, poultry and wild game. Our mission is simple: producing healthy food from healthy ground. Having transitioned from conventional farming to organic and regenerative practices, we are developing a farming system that works with nature, harnessing the productive power of healthy soils, diverse habitats, livestock and natural ecological processes. Mindrum is also a place of experimentation, observation and learning. We combine traditional stockmanship and practical farming skills with modern ecological understanding, undertaking research and trials in soil biology, grazing, animal health, agroforestry and biodiversity. We encourage curiosity, initiative and constructive debate, believing that good ideas can come from anyone and that the best evidence often comes from careful observation on the ground. We are looking for people who enjoy working outdoors, take pride in caring for animals and the land, and want to contribute to a productive, resilient and continually improving farming system.