Company description

Camas Swale Farm is a family operated certified organic vegetable farm located in Coburg, Oregon. Husband and wife team Jonah and Amber along with experienced staff grow vegetables, herbs, berries and some flowers for our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, food hubs and wholesale customers. We look forward to connecting with you!

Job description

Please read job descriptions and complete a general application here

Camas Swale Farm is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We encourage applicants of all backgrounds to apply.

The Team

Our current team consists of owner/operators Jonah (field management) and Amber (harvest management, admin), a field assistant, two delivery drivers, a training coordinator, and a handful of general, important, crew members who work seasonally.

Job Title

Peak Season Lead/Field Crew Member

Job Summary

All general farm crew members harvest, wash and pack produce, cultivate, transplant, prune, trellis, seed, pull row cover to protect plants and more. Depending on the person, a specialty task like seeding, CSA pack out, preparing donations, etc. may be delegated.

Reports to

Daily communication with Training Coordinator

Weekly check-ins with Farm Co-owner

Hours

Part-time

M/W/F 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM in spring and fall, with an adjustable start time of as early at 7 AM during peak season (June-September)

Unpaid 30-60 minute lunch break and two 10 minute paid breaks

Position Period:

May 1st, 2024 – November, 21st 2024

Classification:

Non-exempt (hourly)

Compensation:

$16 – $16.50/hr, DOE

For all positions, wage adjustments are considered after 30 days.

Benefits

• Stipend for education or work gear such as waterproof clothing, shoes, etc. ( $100 for PT workers).
• Access to farm produce - vegetables from the farm are abundant
• 0.015 PTO per hour worked (or approximately 2 hours per month for FT) up to 30 hours
• Option to participate in the Rogue Farm Corp farm educational program
• After 24 months of full time employment we will match your Roth contribution up to $300 per calendar year.
• Our farm pays into the FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act), Unemployment benefit and Workman's Compensation funds and as an employee of our farm you will be eligible to apply for those programs if needed.

Farm Culture

We have a friendly family atmosphere on our commercial farm. All of our work is performed on-farm which is 15 acres set in the Southern Willamette Valley. We are bordered by two other small farms and near hiking and swimming opportunities. We encourage work life balance through paid and unpaid time-off, fairly regular hours, and openness to PT work. Staff have full access to surplus produce, shaded lunch spaces, running water and electricity in the barn to warm up your lunch or have coffee. We make time for one-on-one check ins and provide regular communication about day-to-day tasks via daily morning meetings. Staff potlucks and/or Wednesday staff lunch are common. We aim to make expectations and benefits clear during training, in our Employee Agreement, and through check-ins.

About you (Minimum Qualifications)

• You are a hard working, reliable, clear headed, and kind individual
• You enjoy working on small team and occasionally independently
• You have experience in organic produce farming or related fields such as landscaping or food industry– at least one season of equivalent experience to be considered for this position
• You are able to lift and carry 50 lbs
• You are comfortable working in mud, rain, and temperatures below 35 degrees and above 90 degrees
• You have an interest in healthy food, teamwork, and outdoor work

• You are able to commit to the time frame of the position
• You are comfortable providing direction and feedback to others

Responsibilities

Basic Field Work - all employees share in the primary farm tasks listed below. You will spend the majority of your time together with other employees doing this work:

• Harvest, wash, and pack produce
• Cultivate crops and weed beds
• Trellising tomato plants
• Transplant vegetable starts

Peak Season Leadership - for this position you will provide leadership to peak season workers for the harvest and handling of certain crops including tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, peppers. Leadership includes:

• Learn the fine details of harvesting and handling peak season crops
• Provide leadership to 3-4 temporary employees (June- September)
• Report to owners on status of peak season crops
• Friday inventory and donations

Other Potential Duties - interest and ability to be discussed with prospective employee (typically for those working FT)

• Hand and vacuum seeding
• Watering greenhouse plants
• Running and fixing irrigation
• General tool maintenance like sharpening, cleaning
• Assist with CSA packout
• Tomato sorting
• Tractor work

Further Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Excellent interpersonal skills — we are a small team with a high level of respect and kindness among the crew members and are committed to keeping safe, comfortable, encouraging work environment
• Ability to discern high quality produce from poor quality produce once shown our standard
• Ability to keep up in a fast-paced environment: We are a commercial production farm that relies on a steady pace and focus.
• Verbal and written communication skills; ability to follow instructions and to clearly express ideas in a concise and professional manner
• Basic math skills; ability to perform and interpret basic calculations related to count, weight, time, rate, distance
• Must be able to perform physical work in a variety of positions and at various heights including bending, stooping, reaching and twisting of arms and body movement
• Critical thinking and decision making skills; able to make effective decisions under uncertain/variable conditions
• Ability to maintain a strong work ethic and good attendance
• Ability to provide your own work clothing, boots and lunch

Compensation

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

Application instructions

Deadline

May 31, 2024