Company description

Back4Farm is a small, woman-owned certified naturally grown fruit and vegetable farm in Columbia County, in the Hudson River Valley in New York State.  The farm has about and acre and a quarter of diverse crops including blueberries, strawberries, peaches, rhubarb, elderberries, garlic, tomatoes, peppers, asparagus and chestnuts.  It has been in operation for about 10 years and sells to restaurants locally and in New York City, CSAs, farmers markets and local retail groceries. We are no-till and follow holistic and bio-generative principles in taking care of the soil, pollinators and plants. 

Job description

The person who has been helping my partner and I for several years moved out of state, and we are looking for someone part time.  The farm operates from late March into November or December depending on the weather.  Because many of the restaurants and markets we sell to open on a Wednesday through Sunday schedule, we also generally work Wednesday through Sunday and are looking for someone who can work 15 to 20 hours a week primarily Thursday through Saturday. 

The local minimum wage for farmworkers is $15.00 per hour and we are willing to pay $18.00 to $20.00 per hour.  Farming experience would be helpful, but not essential.  There is no housing, and any interested person will need to have a driver's license and vehicle.  The work itself is everything that one would expect on a farm including pruning, nutritional and permitted organic sprays, weeding, bed preparation, harvesting, packing, delivering, etc.  We do have a tractor but do a lot of the work with hand tools.  Most of the crops are small and relatively easy to harvest and we do no washing or processing.  Everything is harvested into the containers from which it is sold and delivered directly to the customer as soon as possible after harvest.

We are looking for a person who thinks that farming organically is something he or she wants to do for the future.  While my partner and I are generally here, applicants should be able to work independently and be self-motivated to think about what needs to be done next and how to do tasks efficiently.  Since we are growing food, good hygiene and cleanliness are imperative.  Strength and stamina are important as there can be soil amendments, compost and mulch that can come in 50-pound bags, and we are outside working for 5 or 6 hours a day. 

There is exclusionary netting around some of the crops to keep out birds and insects and that has to be raised and lowered seasonally, which involves being on top of a 12-foot ladder.  The farm itself is small, relatively flat and has a barn, greenhouse, irrigation, electricity and access to the farmhouse for bathrooms.   We have an electric, walk behind lawn mower to mow grass around certain of the crops and a string trimmer for smaller areas.  Other than those and the tractor and the tilther, we work with hand tools.  Coordination and manual dexterity are important as is the ability to see color since we determine the ripeness of many of the crops we grow, by seeing haw red they are. 

As mentioned above, there is no housing available in connection with the position and a driver's license and vehicle are required as driving is a component of the job duties.  There are also other local farms that may need part-time help, and it could be possible to put together a full-time position by combining two part-time jobs.  Rental apartments are available in the area.

Compensation

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

Application instructions

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Deadline

June 30, 2025