Farmer

We have been farming at our current location at the Garrett Williamson school since 2017. For much of that time, two of us have done most of the tractor work, irrigation, pest and disease management and mechanical jobs. Our farm has grown from 3 people working 8 acres, to most days having about 10 people working 26 acres. We have long-time crew members who are real leaders and managers. They run this farm. They operate tractors and manage field decisions and a crew. But we’ve never really hired anyone with agricultural machine operating experience, or experience managing crops or employees at another farm. The priority is to employ someone to share the load of daily management and to do some of the tasks that have till now been done by a select few. We really think of these tasks as some of the most rewarding and exciting jobs on the farm. We could tailor the position to the right applicant depending on qualities, experience and preferences.

We have not hired publicly in a few seasons because we always have a fantastic crew. A lot of folks have worked for us over the years, and we hope they all agree that our primary values are making this a quality job and a quality place to work. It is rewarding to grow healthy produce and feed our community, but we are most beholden to the people who choose to spend their scarce time and energy here. We want a crew of people who like working together and who treat each other right. It has created a rare dynamic that is inclusive and largely without egos, and that is a precious thing that has taken a lot of work. Now we turn our focus from the challenges of starting a farm and growing our crops and markets to sustaining and improving our lives and our business. We hope the right people will join us. This is a very special place to a lot of people for different reasons. We all do our part to make it the best it can be.

The crew loves working together, and the farm is very busy and demanding from 8-5 when we have a crew harvesting and working. Our full time employees right now are at their most effective when they have all that help, but directing all that help and doing time management for a crew is very demanding. When we have a payroll over $1000 a day, that can be a lot of pressure on the managers. Almost everyone just starts together at 8AM. Often 5PM rolls around and they are drained and gotta go. Time before 8AM when the crew arrives is often spend just preparing for their arrival to get right to work.

We could really use someone who is more accountable to the tractor work and irrigation work schedule than to the crew schedule. From about April to October that could mean working early, late, on the weekends or whenever the window is open. Mostly this does not necessitate long days or weeks, but it does necessitate working at a very specific time since we don’t control the weather. The ideal applicant for this position understands that the sun is shining for 16 hours a day at the peak of the season and less than 8 in the winter, and every additional hour of work we can fit in during that peak has ramifications throughout the year. We do our best to balance the farm season and avoid periods of intense work and stress, but the calendar and climate can do it for us. There really is no getting around the fact that May through September is when everything happens. In an ideal world, everyone digs a little deeper and no one person feels it too much. Frankly, we’re not getting any younger and the oldest of us need to be able to dig a little less to get through the toughest parts of the season. One more qualified, experienced farmer should really make a difference. We believe our crew could really benefit from the addition of such a person, and we also believe such a person would have a really great time working on our farm.

Position could be salary or hourly starting at $20.