Company description

Hayshaker Farm is a small-scale, mix-powered commercial vegetable growing operation based in the SE Washington state. 2025 marks our eleventh season. The business is owned and operated on leased land by Chandler Briggs and co-managed by Theo Ciszewski. Bri Bell is our Food Hub Manager.

We farm on 8 irrigated acres, growing diversified vegetables and fruit for local families, grocery stores and restaurants. We sell mostly through our 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 and Jane and sometimes other helpful visiting horses + mules. 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 and flail mowing. We have a small tractor for pallet forks, bucket, rotary mower and transplanter. 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.

Applicants should desire to work on a small-scale, high production vegetable farm and local food hub. Ideally all candidates have the ability to lift 50+ pounds regularly and work 7+ hour days, sometimes in the rain and wind, and often in a hot, dry, sunny environment. Ideal candidates love food, cooking, being outside, warm weather, and sunshine. Previous farming experience is not required for all positions, and pay varies depending on the extent of your experience and what position you apply for. See each position for specifics.

If the physical work in field work is too much for you, but you have interest in joining our team, please reach out to inquire about opportunities in bookkeeping, store management and customer service.

We are a crew of 4-8 people depending on the time of year. Some work is independent, and some is in a team. You will need to be able to work with others, listen and follow directions well. During the hottest time of the summer, we usually start at 6am but in the shoulder season we have a later start time that varies depending on work load and weather. Our goal is to work efficiently and with efficacy. We believe in time for you to regenerate, explore and enjoy time off the farm so you will get two consecutive days off—Saturday+Sunday. We share weekend chores of irrigation & feeding. We aim to keep everyone under 40 hrs/week but pay overtime of 1.5x when it happens. Winter work is variable and weather dependent but almost always 20+ hours/person. We believe in maintaining adequate work/life balance for everyone on the farm.

Our teams of draft horses power many of our implements. These job positions are not crafted to teach you how to work horses, but you will be working with them at times, when we harvest some crops, or cultivate. Previous experience with horses is not necessary, but a respect for these gentle giants is required.

What you can expect from us:

• 18 years of farming experience in ownership
• 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 painted around the place: “Have fun and be safe,” “Every Farm Needs a Team,” and “Eat the Rainbow”

Job description

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, 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 farm team 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 van 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, chores & feeding, petting cats & horses

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

Housing: For those from out of town: no housing is available on the farm, but we can spread the word in our network to inquire about rooms for rent. Some friends, acquaintances or coworkers may rent a room. There are also rentals posted around town if you desire to find something on your own.

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

Paid Worker’s Compensation: covered with LNI state program

Paid Family Medical Leave: new program in WA state began 2020

Time commitment:

• • April - November average 35-40 hrs/week
  • December - March average 15-30 hrs/week
  • Occasional overtime (40+hrs/week), paid at time+half

Schedule:

• Monday - Friday, starting between 6-8amc(ex: 6am in summer, 8am in winter)
• Weekend chore share avg. 1x/month

Compensation:

• $20-22/hr, DOE, paid every 2 weeks. Salary possible.
  • $10/month phone stipend + $100 annual gear stipend
• Paid sick leave: 1 hour earned for every 40 hours worked, available after 90 days
• Vacations: 1.6 hours earned for every 40 hours worked, available after 90 days
  • More unpaid time off possible with pre-approval

Compensation

this position is: hourly, $20/hr +

Application instructions

Deadline

no deadline