Mika J. Hunter - Experiential Learning
Agroecology On-Farm Internship(2)

This summer I had the experience of being the first female hired worked at Cedar Meadow Farm. Not that I want to carry around the bragging rights concerning my endeavor, but I do think it is worth mentioning.

Being a diverse farm, Cedar Meadow farm had diverse activities. Hay baling, hay mowing, hay unloading, stake pounding, heavy lifting, tractor driving – you get the idea.

Never being afraid to try something that I might not be that great at, I never turned down an opportunity to try something new on the farm, even if I knew that I wasn’t going to be as great at it as the guys. So sometimes I had to move onto another task before all the hay was up in the hayloft, but I never felt discouraged or humbled. And by the end of the summer I was able to unload wagons of hay onto the elevator all by myself. The guys taught me how to drive the different tractors on the farm, and even let me join in on their pizza and pinball activities.

Most of this I have to attribute to Steve, who wanted both Jeff and I to experience everything that was going on at the farm while we were there. And I greatly appreciate that. And I admit, I am proud to be the first hired female worker at Cedar Meadow Farm.