Biodynamic Apprenticeship

Preparation making
and practical farming

Learn how biodynamic preparations are made, cared for, studied, and shared with growers, alongside the daily work of a living farm.

JPI Research Farm brings together the Josephine Porter Institute and Perennial Roots Farm in a hands-on educational apprenticeship. Gardening, animal husbandry, composting, preparation making, and careful observation belong to one learning program.

Applications are open.
Enrollment dates and final participation terms will be confirmed before enrollment.

Apply through Google Forms What to prepare

Google sign-in is required for the résumé and photo uploads.

Three workshop participants arranging horn preparations together in a soil pit. — Working together with horn preparations at Perennial Roots Farm — JPI Fall Workshop, October 2026.

Two connected settings

Follow the whole path

With JPI

Learn preparation making, materials and sheaths, seasonal making, handling, storage, and batch records, labeling, inventory, packing, and order fulfillment under supervision. Connect this work with library study, workshops, webinars, study groups, and questions from growers. The planned program includes free attendance at all JPI events, webinars, and study groups as an apprenticeship benefit.

With Perennial Roots Farm

Learn practical gardening and farming, animal husbandry, pasture care, and composting. Follow the connections between soil, crops, animals, manure, compost, and long-term fertility through seasonal work and observation.

The two settings meet in the sheaths, preparations, and research plots. An individual learning plan, supervised practice, and regular feedback help connect everyday tasks with developing skills.

Activities follow the season, available materials, and mentor capacity. Paid outside courses, outside conference admission, and travel are not automatically included. Free JPI attendance does not require weekend participation.

Hands filling a cow horn beside a pile of dark material at the Fall 2026 JPI workshop. — Hands filling a cow horn — JPI Fall Workshop, October 2026.

The planned daily rhythm

A daily rhythm of work and learning

MorningsWork with Perennial Roots Farm: harvesting, weeding, feeding animals, and tending garden plots. Practical instruction takes place alongside the work.
MiddayBreak for lunch and an afternoon rest.
AfternoonsJPI work: helping with preparations, order fulfillment, research plots, documentation, observation exercises, and journaling.

Across the week, apprentices tend experiments, take measurements and photographs, and connect their observations with study and discussion. Not every activity takes place every day.

Teaching, study, research, and records belong within the planned program day. Start and finish times, total weekly hours, weekend arrangements, and essential animal- and crop-care coverage will be confirmed before enrollment. Participation in farmers’ markets is optional.

An adult instructor teaching outdoors beside a whiteboard at the PRF Fall 2022 workshop. — Outdoor teaching beside a whiteboard — PRF Fall 2022 Biodynamic Conference Workshop.

Practical support

A place to live and learn

Room and meals

The planned residential support includes:

A private room, with utilities covered.
Access to a full bath and shower.
A generous supply of garden produce.

Apprentices are responsible for arranging and preparing their own meals. Occasional group meals may take place at the farm and during workshops.

Learning stipend

A weekly learning stipend is part of the program plan, subject to confirmed funding and final terms.

The amount, performance criteria, review process, payment arrangements, and funding must be confirmed before enrollment. Performance is not measured by whether an experiment produces a favorable result.

Tuition has not yet been decided. The written offer will confirm residential support, any fees, and remaining personal expenses. Garden produce is provided for apprentices to prepare their own meals; full board is not included.

Observation and research

Three controlled experiments

Each apprentice is expected to conduct three controlled plant-growth experiments per year during the growing season.

Plan a defined question with mentors, establish a treatment and an appropriate control, and maintain comparable care. Keep dated photographs, weights, measurements, and records of what happened. Compare the results and prepare a practical account of each experiment.

The purpose is honest observation, not a predetermined outcome. No difference, an inconclusive result, or crop failure can still teach something when the records are sound.

How the annual research requirement fits the agreed term, including interruptions or crop failure, will be settled before enrollment.

Two workshop participants working with cow horns outdoors. — Learning through shared preparation work — JPI Fall Workshop, October 2026.

Who this is for

Bring curiosity and care

The program is for aspiring farmers and gardeners, people interested in preparation making, and growers who want to improve their observation, records, and experimental practice. Applicants do not all need the same starting skills.

What matters is a willingness to learn, reliable care of living things, patience with repetitive work, honest recordkeeping, clear communication, and the ability to ask for help. Responsibilities increase with instruction and demonstrated readiness.

Biodynamics is not an intellectual path. It is a path of the WILL.

Hugh Courtney.

A horned brown-and-white cow standing in pasture against a sunset sky. — A horned cow in pasture at sunset — photographed during the JPI Fall Workshop, October 2026.

Application

Application information

The written application asks about your goals, experience, practical work, learning, and research. Specific examples help mentors understand what you have observed, practiced with supervision, and done independently.

Your contact information and current location.
Your available dates and planned absences.
Your work and training experience, with a résumé and applicant photo.
Two work or training references and one personal reference who is not a relative, with permission to contact them. Explain if you cannot provide these.

Applications are open.

Complete the application in Google Forms. Sign in to your Google account to upload your résumé and photo. Application responses and uploads remain private to the program team.

Open the application

Google Forms opens on its own page because forms with file uploads cannot be embedded here.

For program information, contact Stewart Lundy at stewart@jpibiodynamics.org. Please do not email sensitive identity documents or Social Security numbers.

What happens after an application?

The proposed process is a written application followed by a phone or video conversation and, where practical, a farm visit. Before acceptance, applicants receive a written offer covering the agreed schedule, teaching, responsibilities, support, costs, research expectations, and arrangements for concerns or early departure. An application is not an enrollment agreement or an unpaid work trial.