Working on a WWOOF Farm

All over the world, farmers work hard to produce food. Some farmers grow plants. Other farmers raise animals. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work on a farm?

If you’re curious what it’s like to grow food and raise animals, there’s a way to find out! WWOOF stands for World Wide Organization of Organic Farmers. WWOOF is an organization of farmers who like to have visitors, called WWOOFers, work and live on their farms. You can try farming for yourself!

The Life of a Farmer

Every farm is different, but they all require a lot of work. What you do will depend a lot on the time of year.

Rachelle Bostwick is a farmer in Michigan. She grows vegetables and elderberries on her farm. She opens her farm to WWOOFers from May to September each year.

“During this time, they help with everything on the farm,” she said. “May is a lot of greenhouse work: seeding, potting up, filling trays, and labeling plants. June is more field work: planting, weeding, mowing, irrigation. July is getting into harvest season: picking, weeding, lots of tending to crops. August is harvest time for the elderberries: picking, packing, processing berries. September is a big harvest month for vegetables, and we also do a lot of clean up from the greenhouse and elderberries. Through the season, we also do farm maintenance and upkeep projects.”

Farmers need help caring for the plants from the time they’re seedlings to when they harvest food. In the winter, the farmers need help repairing anything that was broken during the warm months. The buildings on farms need care, too, just like plants and animals!

If there are animals on the farm where you’re working, you might have different tasks. You might feed the animals or help gather eggs or bring in milk. Animals need shelter, and you could find yourself building a chicken coop or even helping to repair a barn.

Everything on a WWOOF farm is done to help care for the earth. You’ll learn how to grow plants without harsh chemicals. You’ll also find out how the farmers take care of the ground. That way it can produce food for many years to come.

Not Just Work

Farming is a lot of work, but that’s not all there is to do when you’re WWOOF-ing! Taking time to relax and enjoy the area around each farm is a big part of working with a WWOOF group.

WWOOF farms are often in beautiful locations. There can be places to hike or bike in the summer. Farms that are in cold climates may have skiing and snowshoe trails.

Near Rachelle’s farm, she says there’s a lot to do. “There is a nice park with nature trails and a small beach a couple of miles away. And the town of Sparta is close too. There are summer concerts and events there.”

At the end of the day, it’s important to have a nice place to relax and recharge for the next day of work.

Around the World

WWOOF farms aren’t just in the U.S. You can find WWOOF farms on every continent besides Antarctica!

In Sweden, you might work with horse breeders. In Africa, you could help schools develop gardens for their students. Farms need help from WWOOFers, but it’s also important to connect people with different cultures. Working on a farm and seeing how people live is a good way to make friends.

If you’ve ever wanted to see what farming is like and learn about a new place at the same time, then WWOOF-ing is for you!