Lillooet Sheep and Cheesery is a brand new grass-based sheep dairy and artisan cheese making business located 25 miles north of Boston. We are excited to be milking our growing flock of East Friesian sheep, have a regenerative pasture management program, forest stewardship plan, and cheese making operation. Lillooet Farm is located in the historic district of Boxford, Massachusetts and is committed to restorative, sustainable agriculture and being a positive addition to our community.

About Lillooet Sheep & Cheesery

Lillooet is a small sheep dairy producing cheese from our flock of East Friesian sheep. We are committed to regenerative farming from grass to milk to cheese; to this end we strive to raise our animals compassionately and improve the land we farm. 

The farm is located in Boxford, MA on a property that predates the signing of the constitution. The team at Lillooet is working to bring the farm property back to its former glory after 80+ years of overgrowth. Our flock of sheep and herd of goats are rotationally grazed together in an effort to regenerate the soil and create a positive impact on the land.

Our goal is to bring our community together around sustainably-raised, hand-crafted, small batch cheeses. We don’t seek to measure success by the amount of cheese we can make, but rather on the quality of the cheese and on our ability to share our knowledge of regenerative farming and eating with our community.

Description of job

We are looking for a full time milker and farmer; milking shifts are both weekend and weekday. We are in our first year of production and milking a small flock. Besides the set up, break down, and cleaning, you will be responsible for chores & feeding the rest of the animals on the farm. Milking and all farm tasks will be split (not necessarily evenly) between flock manager, farm manager/owner, and two staff. You will be expected to move animals between the pastures and the barns, set up fencing for rotational grazing, and complete additional farm projects throughout the year. We milk seasonally, April/May - November, so a combination of farm projects, farmers markets, and additional team projects will keep us busy through the winter. 

Qualifications

- experience working with farm animals preferred 

- experience milking would be ideal; complete training to our system provided

- willingness and excitement to adapt and learn with our team

- expectation and understanding of farm labor; we are very conscientious of quality of life and balanced time-off but work extremely hard and occasionally have to solve problems that end in long days.

- ability to lift 50-75lbs. Some long, physical days moving hay bales and cleaning barns.

- The job requires a responsible, detail oriented approach to insure sanitary milking practices, to keep the milk room and parlour clean, to provide for the care and wellbeing of our animals 

- You will be working with a team but during your shift you will often be on your own. Good communication skills are essential 

Compensation

35k

Housing included