Company description
Apple Creek Farm is an organic livestock farm in what is now Bowdoinham Maine, operated by Abby Sadauckas & Jake Galle. The farm sells diverse livestock products year-round at farmers’ markets, through other farms, and to local food retailers. 2025 is the farm’s 11th season raising chickens, cows, goats, and sheep. The farm is located on two primary properties and leases additional acreage throughout nearby towns.
The farm is run primarily by the co-owners, Abby and Jake. Their roles support each other to ensure the smooth running of farm operations. Our farm crew assist with the day-to-day farm management and our market crew are key to ensuring the viability of our farm business.
Located 40 minutes north of Portland Maine, Bowdoinham is a beautiful small town adjacent to the 295 corridor. Despite its size, our town is incredibly supportive of the strong community of farmers here. Situated near the beautiful Merrymeeting Bay there are plenty of places to swim or to explore on your days off. Nearby Brunswick is a great place to eat, enjoy excellent local beer and to meet new friends.
Job description
Work Description
We are hiring for a position on our farm crew for the 2025 season, April – December. This position will participate in both on-farm activities as well as retail sales. Job duties include daily livestock chores, participation in weekly farmers’ markets, assistance with our egg enterprise, and sales at additional off-farm events. This position works closely with the farm owners to perform the following:
- Assist with daily livestock chores including feeding, watering and health monitoring
- Collect, wash, sort, and pack eggs for markets and wholesale accounts
- Assist with daily pasture rotations including setting up, taking down, moving, and electrifying temporary fence.
- Assist with hay production including tractor work, moving, and stacking bales
- Assist with construction projects including fencing, general carpentry, and painting.
- Assist with brush and tree clearing
- Assist with on-farm events
- Set-up & operate the farm’s retail market stand
- Greet customers and provide friendly and informed customer service
- Learn product offerings, usage, and pricing
- Perform retail sales using a point-of-sale system
- Safely handle products to maintain quality of packaging and food safety
Compensation & Hours:
A two-week paid trial period will begin from date of hire. Starting hourly pay between $18-20 based on abilities and experience. Additional compensation includes $35 worth of farm products each week, accrued paid time off, and workers compensation insurance.
This position is part-time (20 hours) in April. The position increases to full-time (40 hours) May – November. Our ideal schedule would be five 8-hour days. This role does include some Saturdays and Sundays, but the goal will be to ensure two days off each week. The work schedule will be set monthly with consideration for time off and on-farm needs. There is opportunity for hours, rate of pay and length of employment to increase as the farm plans to attend seasonal, weekend markets and events throughout the year.
Housing is not offered as part of this position, though we will assist you in finding local housing or additional employment if desired.
Required Qualifications:
- Interest in organic livestock farming
- Enthusiasm for helping people
- Ability to think on your feet and to solve problems in the moment
- Desire to learn about our products and farm
- Flexibility in working with diverse personalities
Preferred Qualifications:
- Prior farm experience or comparable outdoor work
- Retail or Front of House experience
- Interest in livestock, cooking, and food
- Attention to detail
- Flexibility and ability to manage several tasks at once
- Valid driver’s license is essential to performing job duties related to markets
A Successful Candidate Will…
- Have a positive outlook and sense of humor
- Exercise good judgment, demonstrate initiative and active engagement in the work;
- Work well independently and collaboratively as a member of the farm crew;
- Demonstrate reliability, flexibility and punctuality;
- Practice good communication skills;
- Have a desire to learn and to improve work methods
Physical Demands:
Farming is both rewarding and demanding work. The successful candidate will be able to monitor and prepare for the predicted weather and remain calm and focused on the task at hand. Safety is important to us and as such a successful candidate will learn to operate equipment safely. It is necessary for the candidate to be able to:
- Maintain a brisk and focused working pace all day;
- Move different objects weighing between 10- 60 pounds repeatedly, particularly on market days;
- Spend long hours walking;
- Perform repetitive and monotonous tasks;
- Work outside for most of the day, despite inclement weather
Compensation
this position is: hourly, $15-20/hr
Application instructions
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Deadline
February 03, 2025