I Wish I Could Visit

On Sunday, I had yet another phone conversation with a farm that I had contacted through MOFGA. I had thought that this particular farm might be a great choice, based on its description on the organization's website, but my conversations with two of the farmers there have been somewhat uncomfortable, and I am left feeling that I might not want to end up there after all.

This farm is a family operation, mostly kept up, from what I could understand, by an older farmer and his son's family. The older farmer's son was the person that I talked to yesterday, and he was not the most talkative of farm hosts. He did give me an overview of the internship situation, describing the farm's vegetable operation and markets, and telling me that there would be several other interns and family members working on the farm. I got the impression that this farmer's son (the grandson of the oldest farmer), who is apparently very interested in the use of work horses, might get first place in working with the animals. Thus, I am not sure that I would get very much horse experience at this farm. I also feel that I might be uncomfortable approaching these farmers to ask questions and have conversations about the management aspects of the farm. When I have talked to both this farmer and his father, I have not felt particularly welcome, and I get the impression that they may be a rather stern family. Though I understand this, I do not know if I would want to work on a farm that gives me this impression.

Of course, a phone conversation can only convey so much. Perhaps if I met this farm family, I would feel completely differently about them and their attitude. However, I do not have the luxury of traveling across the country to meet with the farms that I am contacting.

Some farms do not seem to appreciate this fact, however. When I checked my email this morning, I saw that I had received a message from another Maine farm, which had seemed very friendly and welcoming on the phone. They have decided that I am not an acceptable candidate because I cannot visit them. They turned me down quite politely, never explicitly stating that they were rejecting me, but instead wishing me luck in finding employment on another farm for the season. I responded in kind, wishing them luck in their search for another intern.