Company description

Chicory Creek Farm is located in the beautiful rolling hills of Upstate NY, about 3 hours from NYC. We are a small family farm operation owned by partners Kate and Ean Mitchell. The farm is 64 acres, including 15 acres of arable land, and the rest in pasture, woods and buildings. We grow a diversity of USDA Certified Organic and GAP certified vegetables and raise pigs and meat birds on pasture. Most of our food is sold wholesale to schools, restaurants, and food hubs, and also through our farm store. We value good food, efficiency in systems, food safety, hard work, and working with our two young kids.

We are a small crew- Kate, Ean, and one to three workers- but we try to work smart to reduce stress on our bodies. We have two small tractors, a newly remodeled pack house, and eight high tunnels, along with 5-6 acres of vegetables in the field. We raise 800 meat birds per year in movable, open-bottom pens and about 12 pigs per year on pasture that is rotated monthly. The majority of our time is spent on vegetable production, including planting, weeding, harvesting, washing, and packing.

Our philosophy is rooted in regenerative agriculture so we can grow the soil as well as healthy, nutritious food for our local community. We practice cover cropping, crop rotation, IPM, on-farm composting, and are continuously planting trees and flowers around the farm to develop habitat for beneficials.

Job description

We are currently looking for 1 (maybe 2) full to part-time crew members for the 2025 season, which runs from now to early November. We are flexible on beginning and end dates, though our busiest time is generally in the fall. The crew member positions are hourly on a part to full time basis, and more work would be available to people that are skilled, independent workers with motivation. There is the opportunity to get trained on the tractors for the right person, as well as construction work and various farm projects. Farm experience is not required, but preference will be given to applicants who have experience working outside, doing manual labor, or food industry work.

Crew members work closely with the farm owners on a day to day basis and most of the training is hands-on, task by task learning. Workers are fully trained in a task so they are comfortable working independently. There is a weekly rhythm of harvesting and packing as well as varied tasks and projects that change week by week. The beauty and fun of farm work for us is that it changes through the season and every day is different. During each week we work both together as a crew and solo, and we encourage workers to listen to music or podcasts when working alone.

Specific job duties include but are not limited to:

Transplanting: by hand in the high tunnels and on a tractor-mounted mechanical transplanter

Weeding: hand-weeding in the high tunnels and fields

Cultivating: using a stirrup hoe and wheel hoe

Harvesting: using hand harvest tools (knives, snips, pruners), bunching, and filling containers

Washing/packing: washing, sorting, packing at various stations and washing equipment

Chicken and pigs chores: most of the time done by the farm owners, but sometimes help with moving chicken pens twice a day for part of the season, feeding chicken and pigs, moving pig pasture once a month

Other projects, including various construction jobs that vary year to year and season by season, but could include repair on the high tunnels or farm buildings

We are looking for someone that:

1. Is authorized to work in the United States
2. Can lift at least 50 lbs repeatedly (30# more typical day to day)
3. Can kneel and bend over easily and repeatedly
4. Is able to work outside in all types of weather
5. Is able to do repetitive, time-consuming and detailed work for hours at a time
6. Has a strong work ethic
7. Is able to work efficiently and quickly
8. Has good communication and listening skills
9. Can give and receive constructive criticism

There is potential for growth at Chicory Creek Farm and the opportunity to assume responsibilities and compensation above and beyond that of a starting employee. Employment through a second season is a possibility with limited winter work during the offseason.

Plus!

• The farm is 20 minutes from Oneonta and Cooperstown- both are small towns with restaurants, grocery stores, and opportunities for social activities
• Within a few miles of the farm are amazing hiking and biking trails, fishing, and lakes and rivers. There is a spectacular waterfall on the property adjacent to ours, about a 10 minute walk away.
• Farm staff can harvest vegetables and grab any ‘farm food’ veggies. They can also buy chicken and pork at wholesale prices.

Compensation

• Hourly wages start at $16 per hour for employees, or more based on experience, with free farm housing available. We offer raises in season based on performance. The housing available is a recently renovated tiny house, with its own kitchen and living space.
• The position is for a minimum of 30 hours a week and upwards of 40 hours. Some parts of the season are naturally slower than others. Hours through the season are 8am to 5pm with a one-hour unpaid lunch break, Monday through Friday.

Compensation

this position is: hourly, $15.50 - 20/hr

Application instructions

Deadline

June 15, 2025