Company description

Hayshaker Farm is a small-scale, mix-powered vegetable growing operation based in the SE Washington state. 2024 marks our tenth season. The business is owned and operated on leased land by Chandler Briggs.

We farm on 8 irrigated acres, growing diversified vegetables and fruit for local families, grocery stores and restaurants. We sell mostly through our year round, full diet, online market called the Walla Walla Food Hub. We feature our produce but carry many other producers’ goods from across the region. The food hub is managed by the farmers and is a regular part of the work here.

Our farm is partly draft horse-powered, thanks to the help of our fuzzy teammates, Dusty, Juni, Jane, Ruby and Gus and sometimes other helpful visiting horses. In addition to the compost they help create daily, they help us plow, disc, harrow, cultimulch, cultivate, spread compost, pull loads and harvest crops. We also use a BCS for tilling the salad field and flail mowing. We have a small tractor for pallet forks, bucket and a rotary mower. We are 4 miles from downtown Walla Walla and part of a fantastic local community. It is a thriving college-town city of 40,000+, with excellent outdoor activities, restaurants, bakeries, breweries, music, theater, lectures and wine production.

Job description

Time commitment: December - March average 15-25 hrs/week

April - November average 30-40 hrs/week

Occasional overtime (40+hrs/week), paid at time+half

 

Schedule: Monday - Friday, starting between 6-9am

(ex: 6am in summer, 9am in winter), occasional weekend chores

Compensation: $18-20 /hr, DOE

$10/month phone stipend

 

Paid sick leave: 1 hour earned for every 40 hours worked

 

Vacations: 80 hours paid/year, 40 hours earned every 6 months 

More unpaid time off possible with pre-approval

We are looking for smart, strong and detail-oriented folks to join our farm crew. The Food Hub Co-Manager position is designed to be an immersive and dynamic full time job (part time in the winter), involving product coordination & inventory management, pulling & packing orders, computer & office work, teamwork & coworker management, cleaning and organizing, delivery & customer interaction, sales and marketing. Find a rough breakdown on duties below. Walla Walla Food Hub is located at Hayshaker Farm and is part of the same business–time worked is one paycheck, one W-2. All ideal farm crew candidates will have a strong interest in food and farming, and enjoy working both on a team and individually. Join our small but mighty crew growing food and feeding the community. Produce and food hub goods are sold to local, regional and state-wide families, restaurants, groceries, and food banks. Applications are reviewed as they are received.
 

Responsibilities

• Direct duties (~70-80%)
  • Product coordination & Inventory Management, Pulling & Packing orders: keep produce and food hub products organized, clean & properly labeled, and listed in our online marketplace
  • Computer & Office Work: Gmail, Google voice, Google Drive products, Slack, spreadsheets, online food hub software (Local Food Marketplace & Routific)
  • Teamwork & Coworker Management: Directly manage coworkers in assisting food hub work, communicate with all coworkers on Slack
  • Communicate with our harvest manager to list what’s available for sale and about incoming produce; coordinate listing
  • Cleaning and organizing: Maintain clean work areas and manage stock of bags, boxes & packing materials
  • Delivery & customer interaction: Deliver produce to town, drive a large refrigerated truck in town and on highways; possible cross-state deliveries
  • Sales & Marketing: Help communicate with wholesale accounts on our Google Voice number, including conducting sales, managing order changes, discussing product availability, coordinating deliveries & pickups
• Farm work (~20-30%) - flexible if not desired, please mention in your application
  • Assist in harvest and wash/pack, and in bulk harvest & wash days
  • Assist in field work including but not limited to seeding, transplanting, trellising, hand weeding, hoeing, using row cover, and moving irrigation
  • Assist in some of the following work: greenhouse work, plant starts, tractor driving, farm clean up, farm projects and construction, winter high tunnel snow removal, winter chores & feeding

 

Background, Skills & Expectations

• Practical knowledge of local farms, ability to understand the needs of different groceries for proper packing and storage is desired
• Experience working in farming, grocery or food hubs is desired 
• Flexibility and desire to learn new methods and farm systems
• Attention to detail, with emphasis on quality control
• Self-starter mentality, always looking for how to help the team
• Good communication skills
• Energetic and motivated personality
• Excellent work ethic and positive attitude, adaptability to challenges
• Conscientious and able to work with all kinds of people
• Strong back and knees
• Ability to work outside in all weather conditions: hot summers, cold winters
• Willingness to commit to the farm for the full year, ideally two
• Ability to drive large van required; ability to drive stick shift helpful but not required

 

More details…

 

What you can expect from us:

• 17 years of farming experience in ownership, and nearly 44 years experience in the whole current crew
• Approaching relationships with care, love, curiosity and compassion
• Investment in tools, equipment and improvements
• Flexibility for time off
• Focus on work/life balance, through communication and time spent
• Understanding that no one is perfect
• Desire to feed all community members, regardless of income level
• Some farm mottos we have posted around the place: “Have fun and be safe,” “Every Farm Needs a Team,” and “Eat the Rainbow”

 

Housing: we can help search for a private apartment or house if you’re moving from out of town, and ask our network about rentals. There is no housing available on the farm. All employees from out of town have found housing.

 

Food: all farm seconds and some items we grow are available for the crew. Wholesale cost on other products sold in our food hub. Meals are on your own, with some weekly shared lunches.

 

Professional Development: up to $300/year budget for pre-approved conferences/workshops + travel
Paid Worker’s Compensation: covered with LNI state program
Paid Family Medical Leave: new program in WA state began 2020

Compensation

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

Application instructions

Deadline

no deadline

Attachment

click here to download the attached document.