The Quivira Coalition is currently recruiting mentors for their New Agrarian Program for the 2024 season, which will run from March through October. In particular, they are seeking new mentors in New Mexico, western and southwestern Colorado, and Wyoming. New Agrarian Program mentors are skilled farmers and ranchers with a passion for sharing their knowledge in regenerative grazing, livestock management, and more with a highly motivated young person during an immersive 8-month apprenticeship program. Ideally, mentors in the New Agrarian Program:
Have 5+ years of experience in operation, and previous experience directly supervising ranch/farm staff or trainees
Prioritize healthy soil, food, communities, and ecosystems
Maintain a culture, rhythm, and agricultural practice that provides a high quality of life for both people and animals
Want to teach and be an apprentice’s full-time employer, teacher, and life coach
Have time and capacity to instruct an apprentice and give them meaningful feedback
Have a payroll system compliant with the requirements of the IRS and state taxation division
Are financially able to pay their apprentice a monthly stipend and provide partial board
Have adequate, safe apprentice housing independent of mentor housing
In turn, mentors will receive access to 1:1 support from the program, a quality applicant pool, mentor training support, a cohort of fellow mentors, and other perks like free registration to the annual REGENERATE Conference. Even if you’re unsure if you meet all of these qualifications, please email the program at newagrarian@quiviracoalition.org or call 970-844-4013. You can learn more about the program at https://quiviracoalition.org/prospective_mentors/.Long-time Holistic Management practitioners George Whitten and Julie Sullivan, who helped start this program, share more about what this experience means to them in this short video: Mentoring the Next Generation of Land Stewards