Company description

Champlain Valley Hops is the largest hop farm in New England. Located about 30 minutes south of Burlington, we grow and process premium hops for the region's growing number of craft breweries as well as home brewers. 99% of hops in the United States are grown in the Pacific Northwest. CVH is passionate about local agriculture and would like to give brewers out East greater access to local ingredients that represent the region. Our hops are used by some of Vermont’s most esteemed breweries including Foam Brewers, Burlington Beer Company, Zero Gravity, Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Four Quarters and many more!

Our farm is located in the town of Starksboro on a sandy plateau in Vermont’s Champlain Valley. We are about 10 miles from Lake Champlain and 20 miles south of Burlington. The beautiful 240 acre property was a dairy farm before we purchased the land and planted our first hops in the spring of 2018. We currently grow 10 varieties of hops on 37 trellised acres. As a relatively young farm, we are constantly working to improve our growing practices with quality, yields, and sustainability in mind. We encourage all crew members to participate in the company's development and to make suggestions when they see an opportunity for improvement.  You can learn more about Champlain Valley hops through our website(ChamplainValleyHops.com) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/champlain.valley.hops/).

Job description

We’re seeking hard working individuals to join our hop harvest crew from mid August through mid-late September.
 

Hop harvest is kind of like launching a rocket; there is a lot of careful planning, it goes by really fast, and you only have one chance to get it right. Each of the nine hop varieties we grow has a unique harvest window.  When we determine that a variety is ready for harvest, bines are cut down in the field and brought to our own site processing facility where hop cones are picked, sorted, dried, baled, and moved into cold storage.
 

Our harvest crew will assist in loading our Wolf picking and sorting machines and doing quality control on sorted hop cones. Some crew members will load and unload drying bays and will be responsible for baling dried cones. All of this work will take place in our on farm processing facility in Starksboro, VT. Like most agricultural jobs, hop harvest requires long work days and physical, repetitive work. While farming experience is always helpful, it is not required for this position.  We will consider any applicant that is hard working, has a positive attitude, and believes they have the physical ability and endurance to do the work. 

 

Hours can vary depending on the weather and cone readiness.  Work days average 10 hours (starting at 7 am) and we operate M-F (with the occasional added weekend day) for our ~40 day harvest period.  

JOB REQUIREMENTS / DESIRED SKILLS

• Ability to perform repetitive physical tasks
• Ability to be on feet for long periods of time
• Desire to get your hands dirty
• Detail oriented
• Dedicated, positive attitude
• Works well as part of a team
• Adequate clothing and footwear 
• Safety mindset: understanding and adherence to safe work practices                                                                  

COMPENSATION: Hourly - $18.00 + end of harvest bonus

Compensation

this position is: hourly, $15-20/hr

Application instructions

Deadline

August 18, 2024