Company description

About Tamarack Farm

Tamarack Sheep Farm is located in Corinth, Vermont, and we are dedicated to producing good food, conserving heritage breeds, and restoring and caring for land. We focus on two main heritage breeds: the Dorset Horn and the Tunis. We rotationally graze our ewes in the summer and use a combination of barns and out-wintering during the winter months. We make our own hay and use tractors and skid steers for hay making and winter feeding. After weaning, our lambs are fed a combination of grass, grain, and hay. Our primary product is meat, while hay is a secondary product. We own our farm and lease other fields in the area. More information can be found at http://tamarackvermont.com.

About Redstart, Inc.:

Redstart is a diversified natural resource consulting and contracting company focused on assisting people, organizations, and communities address natural resource issues. We strive to balance the needs of people with the need to maintain and enhance the ecological integrity of our forests, fields, and waters. Our services include forest management, invasive plant treatment, riparian restoration, stream and culvert assessment, ecosystem restoration, and community land conservation. Our 1,100 non-industrial forest management clients collectively own 175,000 acres, and other clients include federal, state, and town government agencies, and non-profit organizations. Redstart is based in Corinth, Vermont and is made up of 8 full-time employees and 8-10 seasonal technicians. Redstart’s web site is http://www.redstartconsulting.com/.

Job description

Tamarack Vermont Sheep Farm and Redstart seek a candidate with strong interests in farming, livestock, ecological restoration, and forestry for a shared position. This position will be split with responsibilities at both Redstart and Tamarack.

We are looking for someone who is excited about a wide diversity of agricultural and conservation work in Vermont and New Hampshire. Our ideal candidate has a strong work ethic, is flexible and curious, enjoys working independently and with a crew, and is enthusiastic about restoring and caring for the land. If you feel you would thrive in a dynamic environment, picking up a multitude of skills, this position may be for you.

Seasonally, Redstart focuses on:

• Summer and Early Fall: Treating non-native, terrestrial invasive plants. Technicians will join teams of 2-5 others, and learn to successfully identify and treat common non-native, terrestrial invasive plants. Treatments commonly consist of selective herbicide application (including foliar backpack spraying and cut stump treatments), though some manual treatment methods (pulling, mowing) may also be used.
• Fall: Upland stream restoration becomes more prevalent, where woody material may be added to create better aquatic habitat and to address flooding concerns, increase resiliency in the face of climate change, and improve water quality. Detailed inventories for carbon credit offset programs and conservation organizations are also common in this season.
• Winter: Timber inventory and plan development, harvest tree marking, boundary line painting, apple pruning, and timber stand improvement using a chainsaw.
• Spring: Habitat restoration and improvement projects focus on native tree plantings along rivers and streams and in important wetlands. Technicians will be trained on proper tree and shrub care, planting, identification, and post planting stewardship.

In each season, Redstart keeps the work diverse so that employees are always learning and growing their capabilities and careers; the summer and fall season will include some elements of the winter and spring work to accomplish these goals. Technicians will be working on privately-owned properties, as well as lands owned and managed by state or federal agencies, towns, and non-profit organizations.

At Tamarack Farm, seasonal work includes:

• Summer: Rotational grazing using flexi net, hay-making including tractor operation and maintenance, high tensile fence maintenance, soil and forage sampling, grazing planning, selecting breeding stock and market animals, preparing lambs for market.
• Fall: Breeding for the subsequent winter’s lambing, feeding round bales in outdoor paddocks, finishing market lambs and bringing to market.
• Winter: Infrastructure repair and equipment maintenance, other farm projects as needed, last market lambs going to slaughter. In February, lambing begins, which is perhaps the most intensive season on the farm
• Spring: End of lambing, managing ewe/lamb pairs, weaning, preparation for haying and grazing

Year-round work at Tamarack includes livestock feeding and handling in indoor and outdoor areas, flock health monitoring and husbandry, basic farm construction and maintenance, equipment operation and maintenance, and assessing and improving the quality of our land base (pasture and hayfields). The employee will have an excellent opportunity to learn the ins and outs of a production scale livestock operation that is dedicated to animal welfare and caring for the working landscape.

General Qualifications:

• Interest in outdoor and physical labor in a variety of conditions
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Strong work ethic and communication skills
• Valid Drivers’ license and reliable transportation. Driving is an essential part of the job duties. Additionally, we are located in a very rural location without access to public transportation.
• Working cell phone

Desired Qualifications (Tamarack):

• Interest in sheep, grazing, and grass.
• Strong interest in practical and efficient operation.
• Strong interest in lambing.
• Strong interest in hay making and equipment operation
• Positive attitude, proactive by nature, organized and neat.
• Pluses: interest in or skill with equipment; experience with livestock, especially sheep; experience with software.

Desired Qualifications (Redstart):

• A degree (completed or planned) and/or interest in the natural sciences including environmental science, forestry, or related area.
• Prior knowledge/identification skills of non-native plants - some on site learning expected
• Basic GIS and GPS skills.
• Willingness to become a certified pesticide applicator in the State of Vermont and New Hampshire.
• Chainsaw safety (Game of Logging levels 1-2 preferred) and/or prior experience using a chainsaw.

Terms of Employment:

• Full-time, approximately 40 hours/week.
• Work can likely be year round for a good candidate, and will vary seasonally. Redstart will need technicians through at least November and starting in April, Tamarack needs intensive lambing help starting in mid-late February, and other winter work (maple sugaring, possible carpentry or trim painting work) will likely be available.
• Basic housing available.

Starting wage is $14/hr.

Compensation

this position is: hourly, $10/hr to $15/hr

Application instructions

Deadline

no deadline