Company description

Full and By Farm is a small draft-powered farm producing vegetables, dry beans, beef, pork, chicken, eggs, and maple syrup for our 70 year-round local CSA members. We are entering our 17th year in business and are excited about turning our focus more fully towards regenerative techniques, climate resiliency and early succession planning. We are looking for a team member who shares our love of farming with old techniques in modern times and who is looking to take on a more independent role in their next farm job. This position involves work across the farm—in the vegetable fields, with animal chores, haymaking and in post-harvest handling.

At Full and By Farm we strive to produce the tastiest food with the most sustainable organic methods—minimizing petroleum inputs like plastic mulches, raising animals in as humane and natural a setting as possible, limiting packaging and transit, and keeping medication and pesticides out of our food and our environment. We farm holistically—believing that all aspects of the farm are connected—minimizing outside inputs and producing food for our livestock, "fuel" for the draft animals, and compost for our fruits, vegetables and grains. 

Job description

Starting Date Mid-March through early April.

We are a small team of four and often work collaboratively, but we also have many independent tasks that find us on our own projects. The right applicant should come prepared for both solo and group work. This is a great opportunity for someone who has a couple of seasons under their belt and would like to deepen their skills and relationship with a farm. If you are new to farming don’t hesitate to apply though. There is a lot of learning on the job for everyone, and we all bring a variety of experiences and skills to the table.

Experience with permanent beds, composting systems and livestock husbandry are all a strong plus but the willingness to dive in, learn and contribute to new systems is just as valuable. If you have prior draft horse experience there is opportunity to work with the horses. You will take part in every step of vegetable production from compost-making and bed prep through harvest and post-harvest preservation of veggies for our winter CSA.

Livestock work involves chores 2-3 days per week (including one weekend day), help with haymaking, and occasional work on larger pasture moves and animal systems. Over the winter, work shifts to 5-day/week animal chores, egg crating, granola making, sugaring and assistance with barnyard projects. Winter also brings an opportunity for additional travel breaks if desired. This position has the opportunity to grow into a long-term management position with an eye towards succession for the interested person.

 

Skills Desired:

A good work ethic and willing attitude outweigh experience. 

Applicants must:
* be physically fit and able to lift 50 lbs
* balance a strong attention to detail with working quickly and efficiently
* be self-directed and able to stay on task independently 
* have good follow-through on projects and be able to keep work spaces clean and organized
* have a commitment to direct and clear communication 

Being on a diverse farm means a lot of diversity in our work—we aim to give employees a good overview of the farm organism as a whole, but there are also plenty of days where more concentrated, tedious work is involved. Workers should come prepared for both. Full-season employees can take up to 5 unpaid vacation days per quarter. We value work-life balance—finishing up the day at a predictable time and taking vacation days off throughout the year—to make that happen we expect people to stay on point during work hours, to complete tasks efficiently and to keep pace in a busy work environment.

Typical Work Week: Our typical field work schedule is Monday-Friday, 8 am-5 pm, with a one-hour break for lunch. Animal chore days begin at dawn with an earlier afternoon departure, this schedule changes with the season. Thursdays are 6 am-6 pm during harvest season, with a one-hour break each for breakfast and lunch. Livestock farmers will share a weekend chore schedule but maintain two days off per week. Animal needs, haymaking and important veggie work may stretch into evenings and weekends on occasion but we do our best to respect regular hours and compensate with time off when needed.

 

Compensation: $15.50-$19 per hour commensurate with experience and farm responsibilities and a CSA share stipend.

Housing Available: We have a small, heated, one-room cabin with kitchenette and outhouse located on the farm for rent, $300 per month. We’re also happy to help connect you with other rental options in the area. 

Meals: We love digging into a hot lunch together! Anyone interested can take part in the lunchtime cooking rotation in the shared kitchen.

Compensation

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

Application instructions

Deadline

no deadline