Host Information

What is required to join the program?

• Desire to want to teach someone from another country about dairying; enjoy this sort of involvement.
• Complete an application form and pay the non-refundable application fee of $300 for new host farms, and $100 for each subsequent intern.
• Agree to a visit from the program if you are a new host, and on a regular basis after.
• Treat the intern more like a family member than an employee; the intern is here to learn by doing.
• Provide proof of general farm liability insurance.
• Commit to having intern on your farm for one year. (See if intern leaves early above for further information.)
• Complete brief evaluations while the intern is with you, and when he/she completes his/her stay with you.

What should I expect of this program?

• Interns interested in American dairying technology.
• Interns with basic English (not expected to be completely fluent, but able to communicate).
• Interns selected and placed according to what they wish to learn and what your farm can teach them.
• Interns who usually intend to continue in some form of agriculture when they return home.
• Knowledge of your interns culture and farming techniques.
• International contacts in your intern's country.

What will I provide to the intern as a host?

• Provide the intern with a normal workweek of 55 hours a week.
• Provide the intern with at least one day of completely off per week. Actual day left to you and your intern's discretion.
• Provide the intern with $5.15 per hour the first 60 days, and $6.25 after that.
• Provide reasonable access to transportation.
• Give one free day per week.
• Provide housing, including local telephone and a telephone in their residence.
• Pay an non-refundable application fee of $300 (if you are a host completely new to the program) and $100 for each subsequent intern.
• Give the intern two weeks off in either March, July or December for the Cal Poly training course.
• See costs above for complete details.

How soon will a intern be here?

Interns come into the United States in either January, April, June or September/October (with World Dairy Expo). The documentation should be completed two to three months in advance if possible, and at least six weeks before the entry date. Interns are matched with their hosts according to what the intern wants to learn and what the host farm offers. Existing host farms are given priority; new host farms are taken as interns are available.

"My Colombian intern has been great.  He's a great guy--great personality, fun to be with."
Bob , MN