The North American Biodynamic Apprenticeship Program creates a structural framework for apprenticeship training while allowing the flexibility for each trainee to pursue individual interests. Each apprentice must fulfill the minimum requirements of the program, but they do so at the farms and training centers of their choice.

The program structure has two primary components:

On-farm Training:
Trainees complete 24 months of on-farm training at their choice of participating mentor farms, all of which have a strong educational focus. Mentor Farmers are not simply looking for seasonal help on their farm. They are educators, committed to training the next generation of farmers. Mentor farms are both organic and biodynamic- apprentices are required to spend at least one year of their on-farm training on biodynamic farms. All of the mentor farms work with the same curriculum components:

• Skills Checklists- Apprentices and mentor farmers use the Skills Checklists to keep track of the skills apprentices are acquiring during their on-farm training, some of which must be mastered in order to achieve certification through the program. The checklists allow apprentices and mentor farmers to establish clear learning objectives, and they become a universally-understood transcript within the network of mentor farms.
• Farm Journal- Apprentices are required to keep a journal during the course of the on-farm training. In regular meetings with trainees, mentor farmers review the journals and make suggestions for their improvement.
• Farm Visits- Trainees participate in a series of field days at other biodynamic and organic farms in the region.
• Independent Project- In the second year of on-farm training, apprentices design and execute an independent project.

Classroom Study:
Apprentices also participate in a classroom study course of their choice. These are weekend workshop series or week-long intensives covering specific subjects related to agriculture and to the worldview from which biodynamic agriculture has developed.

1) The Human World

• The constitution of the human being
• The threefold social organism and associative economics
• The evolution of humanity and the earth
• Paths of inner development

2) The Biological World

• Plants
• Animals
• Ecology
• The biodynamic preparations and the farm individuality

3) The Physical World

• Geology and soils
• Climate and weather
• Astronomy and planting calendars
• Greenhouses and farm machinery

Trainees have a phone conference with the Central Program Coordinator at least once per season to discuss their progress and future plans within the program. Regional Coordinators are also available as an additional source of support for apprentices during on-farm training. They are able to point trainees towards additional conferences and workshops in the region and connect them to other local farmers whose operations might interest them. Regional coordinators are available to meet with apprentices during the season, and can serve as mediators for any conflicts that might arise between a trainee and the mentor farmer.