Triform Farm: Thoughts from a Senior Student

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Thoughts from a Senior Student

For me, being a senior student is a bit rocky and hard at times, but mostly it can be fun. These couple of years has gone by like a fan, which blows off all the pages until you come to a blank page of your life. On this page is the heading of: "Now that you are about become an apprentice, what workplace will you apprentice in and why?" Also, are there any memories you would like to share with everyone, that happened in your life here at Triform?
I will answer the questions as I have placed them in order. The place that I would like to apprentice in is the farm. This is because there are many animals to take care of in health, lots of mechanical projects to fix and clean, and also there are still lots more things that I can improve on from working here. Some of them include working your hardest to get rid of ice when it comes into the water troughs and always fill the water troughs to the top and not cut corners when it gets cold. Another reason I would like to work on the farm is I have read some of James Herriot’s works and I would like to find out about more about farming and become a farmer.
In answer to the second question I have to answer "yes," there are some thoughts can be let out in the open. One of my most favorite memories from here at Triform was when I got to name one of the calves and watch her when I could in the daytime. Also I have seen a few births here on the farm and I would like to see some more.
Thank you letting me share some of my thoughts, from becoming a senior student to an apprentice.
-David Wallace

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About Triform Farm

Triform Farm is part of Triform Camphill Community. Triform, founded in 1979, is a residential and therapeutic community for young adults with special needs, located on 125 acres in New York's rural Columbia County. The mission of Triform is to build a vital community life that provides each person the possibility for healing, self-development and fulfillment of potential.

Triform Farm is a USDA Certified Organic and Demeter Certified Bio-dynamic farm. The farm consists of a hand-milked dairy herd, grass-fed beef herd, and heritage breed pigs. On the farm the young adults have an opportunity to gain practical work skills. Students come to the farm to experience working with the animals. They feed the cows, steers and pigs, muck out the barn, clean pens and provide bedding for the animals. They learn to use different tools and how to work as a team with the other members of the farm crew.

Some students go on to become farm apprentices. The apprentices work more full time on the farm and carry many of the daily responsibilities of running a small dairy. They learn how to milk the cows by hand, maintain the machinery, do building projects and repair work to the barn and animal pens, drive the farm golf cart, identify when animals are sick or in heat, and much, much, more. The apprentice program is about four years in length. In that time the young people gain a very broad knowledge of farming. Some go on to work on other farms. Even if they do not, the sense of responsibility, independence and empowerment they gain through land work carries over into other aspects of their lives.

The same can be said of many young co-workers who have come to Triform to volunteer for one year or many. They come with an interest in land work and leave with a very thorough training in biodynamic agriculture. Triform Farm is an exciting place to learn and gain strength and confidence through trying new things. Everyone soon finds that they not only know how to do a new task but have taken on the responsibility of making sure that job is maintained. They can each see that their contribution is vital to the running of the farm. In that way everyone shares in the ownership of Triform Farm.