D R A F T 3.3

Checklists of Skills for Alderlea Farm

Apprentice: Make copies of these checklists for yourself and for your mentor. Keep track of your progress by putting one checkmark in the appropriate box when you have been introduced to a task and second checkmark when you feel confident performing this task independently. When your apprenticeship is finished, compare your copy of the checklists to your mentor’s, discuss any discrepancies between them, and ask your mentor for a copy of his or her signed checklists. Note: The point is not to acquire every skill listed here, but to use the checklists to identify the skills that you have or that you would like to acquire.

Mentor: Keep track of your apprentice’s progress by placing one checkmark in the appropriate box when he or she has been introduced to a task and a second checkmark when he or she is skilled enough to perform that task independently. When the apprenticeship is finished, compare your checklists with the apprentice’s and discuss any discrepancies. Give the apprentice a signed copy and keep your original on file in case a future mentor or employer of the apprentice requests an “official” transcript.

Overview of the Checklists

1. Animal Husbandry Skills

2. Draft Animal Skills

3. Plant Growing/Harvesting Skills

4. Biodynamic Preparation-Making Skills

5. Powered Machinery Skills

6. Management/Business Skills

7. Basic Food/Medicine Processing Skills

8. Basic Construction Skills

9. Basic Craft Skills

Apprenticeship Information

Apprentice Name: ______

Mentor Name: ______

Farm Name: ______

Address: ______

______

Phone: ______Fax: ______

Email: ______

Mentor Signature: ______Date: ______

1. Animal Husbandry Skills

Species:
Basic Skills / Cattle / Horses / Pigs / Sheep / Goats / Poultry / Bees / Other:
safety/emergency procedures
indoor feeding/watering / √ / √
outdoor feeding/watering / √ / √
bedding/housing / √ / √
grooming/cleaning / √
manure handling / √ / √
manure composting/prepping / √ / √
compost turning / √ / √
moving/herding/handling / √ / √
erecting/maintaining fences/lanes / √
pasture clipping/dragging / √
collecting milk/eggs/honey/fleece / √ / √
slaughtering
raising young stock / √
checking health / √
hoof cleaning/trimming / √
castrating/docking / √
breeding/inseminating
record keeping
haying (see Checklist #3) / √
other:
Advanced Skills
choosing feeds/grazing rotation
pasture management / √
balancing feed/forage/animal units
designing housing/fencing/lanes
hoof shoeing
scheduling breeding
helping with pregnancy/birth
timing of weaning/castrating
treating illness/injury/parasites
with homeop/anthrop. remedies
selecting breeds/mates/culls
other:

2. Draft Animal Skills

Type of Animal:
Basic Skills / Oxen / Horses / Mules/
Donkeys / Other:
harnessing/hitching
driving/carting
plowing etc.
log skidding
powering stationary machines
maintaining equipment
other:
Advanced Skills
training young animals
multiple hitches
other:

3. Plant Growing/Harvesting Skills

Type of Crop*:
Basic Skills: / Greenhouse Crops / Small Garden Crops / Mechanized / Berries, Fruit/Nut Orchards / Hedges / Tree & Timber Crops / Other:
Vege-tables / Grain Crops / Silage/Hay Crops
making & prepping compost/
special soil mixes / √ / √ / √
subsoiling / √ / √ / √
preparing topsoil/primary tillage / √ / √ / √
preparing seedbed/secondary tillage / √ / √ / √
direct seeding/propagating / √ / √ / √
transplanting / √ / √ / √
judging water needs / √ / √ / √
watering/irrigation / √ / √ / √
climate control/shading / √ / √ / √
spraying/calibrating / √ / √ / √
pollinating
supplemental fertilizing / √ / √ / √
pruning / √ / √
identifying weeds/diseases/pests / √ / √ / √ / √
weeding/pruning / √ / √ / √ / √
disease control techniques / √ / √ / √
pest control techniques / √ / √ / √
judging readiness for harvest / √ / √ / √
harvesting/mowing/raking/felling / √ / √ / √
baling/log skidding / √
post-harvest handling / √ / √ / √
seed saving / √
record keeping / √ / √ / √
other:
Advanced Skills:
identifying soil deficiencies/
calculating fertility needs / √ / √ / √
selecting varieties / √ / √ / √
calculating spacing/quantities / √ / √ / √
designing cropping sequences / √ / √ / √
companion planting / √ / √ / √
dealing with weeds/diseases/pests / √ / √ / √
judging what/how much to harvest / √ / √ / √
timing of operations / √ / √ / √
farmscaping / √
other:

* Describe the specific crops grown in greater detail (attach list if convenient):

4. Biodynamic Preparation Production and Application Skills

Preparation:
Basic Skills / 500 / 501 / 502 / 503 / 504 / 505 / 506 / 507 / 508 / Barrel Comp. / Peppers / Other:
Weed / Inverteb. / Verteb.
collecting/grinding minerals
harvesting plant parts
stuffing animal sheaths
hanging/burying/exhuming
storing / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √
stirring / √ / √ / √ / √
calibrating sprayer
spraying / √ / √ / √ / √
“prepping” compost pile / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √
other: 3Kings Prep
Advanced Skills
acquiring animal sheaths/horns
selecting burial sites
selecting ashing times
evaluating finished preps
judging application times / √ / √ / √ / √
other:
We prepare… / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √

5. Powered Machinery Skills

Machinery:
Basic Skills: / Stationary Equipment / Handheld / Self-Propelled Equipment / Other:
Heat/Cool/
Ventilat. / Irrigation / Milking / Manure Handling / Weed Trimmers / Chain-saws / Roto-tillers / AllTerrain Vehicles / Tractors / Backhoes
safety procedures
emergency procedures
basic operation / √ / √ / √ / √ / √
routine maintenance/
waste disposal / √
small repairs / √
using implements* / √
record-keeping
Other:
Advanced Skills:
advanced operation / √
selecting appropriate machine/implement* / √
troubleshooting
major maintenance/repairs
Other:

* List the major implements used:

6. Management/Business Skills

Ecological / Economic Social
laying out a new farm / √ / accounting / √ / supervising/training staff / √
converting a farm to biodynamics / √ / planning/budgeting / √ / dealing with regulators/inspectors / √
stocking/balancing animals & plants / √ / marketing/designing packaging / √ / dealing with donors/volunteers / √
designing irrigation & drainage systems / √ / selling/dealing with customers / √ / dealing with neighbors/visitors / √
designing work places
work processes / √ / purchasing/dealing with salespeople/ bidding / √ / dealing with journalists / √
designing/producing a newsletter / √
(see also the Advanced Skills in Checklists 1 & 3) / market research / √ / organizing festivals / √
other: / financing/dealing with bankers / √ / other:
promoting agri-tourism/setting up a CSA / √

Further details (attach separate page if needed):

7. Basic Food/Medicine Processing Skills

Food:
Skills / Milk / Meat/ Poultry / Fish / Grains / Vegetables / Herbs / Fruits / Other:
cooking/baking / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √ / √
calculating ingredients/yields
preserving/drying/fermenting / √ / √ / √
extracting oils/fats/sugars
making butter/cheese/sausage/ wine/beer/tinctures/essences / √
other:

Further details:

8. Basic Construction Skills

Type of Construction:
Skills / Carpentry / Masonry / Welding / Electrical / Machining / Plumbing / Road-
building / Other:
safety procedures
use of hand tools / √
use of power tools
use of basic materials
simple construction
surveying/layout
blueprint reading
estimating materials/costs
other:

Further details:

9. Basic Craft Skills

Craft:
Skills / Sewing/Clothes-
making / Felting/ Spinning / Natural Dyeing / Knitting/ Weaving / Tanning/ Leatherwork / Soap-making / Candle-making / Wood-working/ Carving / Basketry / Other:
safety procedures
obtaining materials
basic tools/techniques / some / some
simple projects
designing
other:

Further details: