North American Biodynamic Apprenticeship Program > Participating Mentor Farms

White Rose FarmWhite Rose Farm is located in a rural agricultural district in northwest Carroll County, Maryland about 60 miles from Baltimore and Washington. It is close to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in rolling countryside, with a view of the Catoctin Mountains.

The farm focuses on connecting people to the beauty, bounty and balance of Nature—both inside and outside of ourselves. We strive for wholeness and health in all that we do. We use biodynamic practices to raise the best food we can imagine. We also have a field broadcaster, (which uses radionics), we have performed Native American ceremony on the land, and we feel a special affinity with the work of Alan Chadwick, a world-class gardener who also focused on creating beauty in his gardens. .

The farm is more than food: it is a feast for the senses; a place to connect with the rhythms of the earth, the universe and each other. We offer five major seasonal events to honor the rhythms of the Earth: A May Day Celebration, a barn dance to open the summer, a high summer feast in early August, a Michaelmas celebration and a drum circle to honor the ancestors near All Saints Day. We hold monthly full moon celebrations to honor the feminine. We plan to hold work days on Saturday mornings. On Sunday evenings we open a farm stand and host a casual social atmosphere. In the fall, we host fire circles on Sunday evenings.

The farm networks with others in our area to promote health and healing—of ourselves and our environment. These include relationships with an acupuncturist, a yoga instructor, various musicians, a drum teacher, the local community college, a soup kitchen and gleaning network.

Sally Voris, the owner, had been a writer, storyteller, master gardener and community organizer before coming to the farm. She completed the one-year, part-time program in biodynamic agriculture at the Pfeiffer Center in New York. She has a special gift for making biodynamic principles accessible, a feminine presence and a sensitivity and receptivity to artists of all kinds.

Size of farm: 132-acre farm, of which 90 acres are rented to a neighbor. 10 acres in production.

White Rose FarmDiversity of produce and livestock: We raise a wide variety of flowers, herbs, vegetables  and fruits over a season that runs from early March through the end of November. The market garden is about 1.5 acres, and includes a hoop house.

We have ranged hogs over three acres of forage crops; we maintain a 6 acre hay field and a 10 acre woodlot. We have raised feeder pigs and roasting chickens for sale. We also free-range laying hens, geese and Guinea fowl. Our latest addition is our family cows, Buttercup and her mother, Brigid, both Jersey cows. Buttercup is due to calve in April 2015. We lease ninety acres to our neighbor, a conventional farmer.

Skills that can be learned: See White Rose Farm's Skills Checklists (pdf).

Apprenticeship details: The Farm Apprentice will focus on the day-to-day operation of the farm, especially in the garden. The apprentice will plant, cultivate, tend, harvest, package and store produce under the direction of the Farm Manager. As directed, the apprentice will run and maintain farm equipment, including a tractor, using good safety practices. The apprentice may help offer educational programs to the general public and will be involved in the preparation and spraying of various biodynamic preparations. He or she may also oversee small groups of free-range hogs ,pastured poultry, a small flock of laying hens, geese, and Guinea hens. The apprentice will be involved in caring for the family cow: milking the cow, mucking the stall, and making compost. The apprentice may be involved in marketing or delivering the farm’s produce, though our focus is on getting people to come to the farm for a farm experience. This farm is a great place to develop skills in starting a small homestead farm.

The apprentice will work an average of 25 hours per week under the direction of the Farm Manager in return for a private room, food from the garden and mentoring. In addition, the apprentice will have the opportunity to work additional time on projects that produce income for the apprentice and fit with the overall farm operation—selling eggs or roasting chickens, growing herbs or mushrooms (etc.) The apprentice will have one week off during the season (from April through November), and one day off a week. The apprentice may receive a bonus for completing the season and for improving the farm. 

Sally Voris

Mentor farmer: Sally Voris 

5009 Teeter Road, Taneytown, MD 21787 

410-756-9303 / sally@whiterosefarm.com / www.whiterosefarm.com