Apprenticeship

The Center for Integrated Agriculture offers apprenticeships through Gamble Creek Farm. An apprentice at Gamble Creek Farm would have the opportunity to learn about many different aspects of farming including growing, marketing, and resource management just to name a few.

Gamble Creek Farm is a working vegetable farm that distributes its diverse harvest through community-supported agriculture (CSA), u-pick, and farm stand sales, offering a unique advantage for apprentices looking to gain first-hand knowledge about sales. The Center also offers opportunities to learn about selling your product through buying clubs and farmers markets. In addition, an apprenticeship is an excellent opportunity to learn about many different growing methods. Gamble Creek Farm utilizes hydroponics, earthboxes, as well as more traditional in-ground growing methods, and plans to have a special emphasis on organic methods. Apprentices will also have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with multiple methods of irrigation, and will learn about the installation, use, and maintenance of each as well as both the costs and efficiencies of each method and how each effects a farming operation.

Additionally, a similar apprenticeship opporunity is available at Geraldson Community farm, an 8-acre diversified vegetable operation. The farm is certified organic and also has a CSA.

Apprenticeships usually last for the duration of the growing season, September through May, with limited opportunities for summer hours. Please contact Jacob Leech for more information.

Training

Staff at the Center are currently developing training sessions in the following areas through a grant from the Agricultural Marketing Service, Farmers Market Promotion Program:
- Creating a plan for your business
- Opporunities in Local Food
- Use of EBT at your farm stand or farmers market
- Tools to be profitable in vegetable operations
- Selling your Produce

Additionally, we will be offering assistance in logo and website development. Please contact Jacob Leech for more info.

MARS

The Florida West Coast RC&D MARS Farm Connection Grant Program provides funding to connect eligible farmers to Manatee County’s MARS (Manatee Agricultural Reuse System) transmission pipeline for irrigation purposes. For more information on the grant program and determining eligibility please visit the RC&D website.

The Center for Integrated Agriculture operates on Gamble Creek Farm, a demonstration site for Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), which was developed as part of the MARS Program. The infrastructure of the farm provides for both an agricultural incubator site with support programming, as well as a segregated area to develop and test approaches to make reclaimed water a viable option for farms within reach of urban centers.  To address the reclaimed water issues for agricultural use, research partnerships are being developed. The RC&D at the Center for Integrated Agriculture will provide space that includes water filtration equipment, along with additional water treatment technologies, work areas for those involved in water quality, an irrigation and water treatment automation laboratory, and other required space for irrigation equipment and water treatment.