Our farm, River"s Edge Goat Dairy in Arthur Ontario has taken in interns from all places, (many countries),ages, cultures. Let’s discuss the frustrations and hurdles farmers may or may not have on a farm… With the long list of volunteers and interns whom want to help and learn on ‘your’ farm. (Btw: this is Will not Katie)
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I have given up on taking on WOOFERS because they come with zero knowledge and it’s so frustrating to teach from scratch every time! Then again I don’t enjoy teaching to people who just want a different experience. I love teaching someone who wants a future in agriculture but usually this isn’t the case!
If we had unlimited time and energy, it wouldn’t be so bad to teach WOOFers over and over again. But let’s face it, with all the pressures and amount of work we have, it never felt like a great use of our time. And that’s assuming that you have a WOOFer who is a hard worker and dedicated to helping out and learning. They aren’t all like that, in which case it “really” isn’t worth it! You’re basically training them with knowledge that will come in handy for the next farm to move on to. So as long as you keep your expectations in check, and that you do proper vetting of your future WOOFers, they can be an asset. But I rarely hear other farmers speak of them as having had positive experiences. There’s definitely greater value in teaching someone who is going to stick around.