Company description

Wild Hope Farm is a certified organic farm in Chester, SC, specializing in vegetable and flower production. The 220 acre property consists of 12 acres in cultivation, greenhouses, walking trails, a 10-acre pond, and diversified natural areas. Our produce is sold through a 350-450 person CSA farm share, to local food hubs (Fresh List in Charlotte, Growfood in Charleston and Happy Dirt in Durham), and at two farmers markets in the greater Charlotte area (Uptown and Matthews Farmers Markets). We also host occasional complementary on-farm events including retreats, farm-to-table dinners, and educational workshops to cultivate community and encourage people to learn about our farming practices.

Job description

We are seeking people with a passion for diversified organic vegetable production. All farm employees are integral members of our 10-17 member team at Wild Hope Farm. Over the course of the season, you will be exposed to all aspects of our farm and deepen your knowledge of our regenerative organic farming methods including: CSA planning, produce harvest and post-harvest techniques, transplanting, cultivation, cover cropping, flower production, soil health improvement strategies, customer interfacing and small farm marketing. During your time at Wild Hope Farm, you will work directly under our Assistant Farm Managers, Isaac Tovar and our farm manager, Ben Dubard.

Looking to 2026 we have a unique opportunity to refine our growing practices without increasing production and be a stronger, more profitable business as a result. The past 8 years, we have made fairly significant changes on a yearly basis and experienced successes that came with big wins but also exhaustion. We are looking for an experienced career farmer interested in managing all aspects of harvest and product allocation across our three sales channels (CSA, farmers markets, and wholesale). Our experienced harvest crew will help assist you in all aspects of your job, ensuring the team’s success.

HARVEST RESPONSIBILITIES

• Create a safe, healthy tempo and work atmosphere
• Ensuring that all Food Safety rules are followed and that all harvest activities are GAP compliant
• Overseeing daily harvest and handing off wash / pack responsibilities to Pack Shed Assistant
• Creating weekly estimates of harvest totals based on field supply
• Creating weekly default menus for the CSA
• Ordering packaging materials as needed
• Communicating with the packshed team about cooler inventory, CSA pack details, and any quality control specifics
• Ensuring that crop quality standards are followed consistently, from field to customer
• Creating or modifying specifications for crop quality standards where there are none
• Meeting daily with other managers to discuss supply and harvest issues
• Delegate the data logging
• Consider other ideas for streamlining and reducing complexities around weekly wholesale offerings

GENERAL CREW RESPONSIBILITIES

• Work with the farm manager to create the daily task list for the crew including harvest, pack and field tasks
• Make sure the crew has the correct tools, seeds, supplies, etc for the task at hand
• If not working directly with a group or individual on a task, periodically check in to make sure everything is going well and meeting standards
• Monitor overall pace and efficiency of the crew and implement ways to improve this
• Ensure everything from the day gets put away - tools, vehicles, tractors, etc.
• Be another set of eyes and ears - proactively bring up any issues you notice with the farm or personnel
  Help to create a fun but focused work environment for the team

MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

• End of season analysis, reporting and discussions. C0-leads 1 day meeting.
• Execute and maintain food safety standards
• Production planning
• Field mapping
• Produce allocation across sales channels

QUALIFICATIONS

• 3-5 seasons farming at an outdoor vegetable farm (CSA farm experience preferred)
• Basic understanding of harvest methods for all types of vegetables
• Knowledge of vegetable storage methods and requirements
• Knowledge of food safety standards
• Ability to identify all types of vegetables and sort/grade produce for quality
• Excellent organizational skills
• Ability to efficiently manage and motivate people during cleaning/packing operations
• The ability to lift at least 50 lbs
• The ability to work in heat, cold, and rain
• Ability to stand, bend, kneel, and lift frequently

THE WORK SCHEDULE - full time, year round
The work at Wild Hope Farm is seasonal and the length of the workday varies within the busy season. The pay for agricultural work at Wild Hope Farm is exempt from overtime pay. Managers work approximately 45 hrs/wk. The expectation is that the work day or week will last until the job is finished. There will be meetings and miscellaneous tasks that need to get done after the work day is over.

BENEFITS
- Salaried position, pay depends on experience
- Subsidized on-farm housing ($400/mo - just to cover utilities)
- 401k 3% matching after 1 year of employment
- Healthcare stipend $150/mo after 1 year of employment
- Continued Education Stipend up to $250 per year to cover educational workshops/conferences that are aligned with the goals of the farm. This can include things like tickets to conferences (CFSA, Georgia Organics, Organic Growers School, Association for Cut Flowers, etc.), as well as leadership, business training, or English classes.
- $250 gear stipend
- Additional profit sharing bonus if we are able
- Provided unlimited fresh produce from the farm

Compensation

this position is: salaried, varies DOE, $40,000.00 - $50,000.00

Application instructions

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Deadline

no deadline