Company description

Keystone Tree Crops Cooperative is an agricultural cooperative that incorporated in Pennsylvania in March 2024 to build a tree-crop food supply chain in the Commonwealth and surrounding states. Our flagship product is oil from hickory nuts gathered by local farmers – our producer members – and pressed and sold by KTCC.

Our Vision is to unite Mid-Atlantic tree crop Growers, Gatherers, Processors, Distributors, and Enjoyers in common cause and mutual benefit. The Cooperative is committed to a triple-bottom-line model. All business activities and governance shall operate with respect to maximizing ecological and social as well as financial benefit to members, customers, and the communities where the Cooperative works.

Our Mission is to generate economic livelihoods through harvesting and processing nuts collected from regionally adapted trees in Pennsylvania and surrounding states. Trees and their nut crops feed people, strengthen biodiversity, sequester carbon, build soil, address food security, and provide a resilient, sustainable product. KTCC’s business model addresses industry bottlenecks by increasing capacity for nut harvests, processing nuts into value-added products, bringing products to market, and providing economic return to our members.

As a cooperative business, we are owned and guided by our members. KTCC currently has 16 producer (farmer) members who provide crops for the value-added products that we process, package, market, and sell. In the coming years, we plan to add a worker membership category as well, enabling workers to be part owners of the cooperative along with producers.

Job description

Keystone Tree Crops Cooperative recently established a nut processing facility at Third Place Processing in Bechtelsville, PA. In fall 2025, we collected hundreds of pounds of hickory nuts and chestnuts from our producer members (farmers and gatherers) and are in the midst of processing the nuts, producing value-added products, and packaging and shipping.

KTCC seeks a part-time Processing Manager to take the lead in setting up and handling day-to-day activities to purchase crops, process crops and convert to value-added products, and market, sell, and ship KTCC products. The Processing Manager will report jointly to the Processing and Operating Directors, who are members of KTCC's Board of Directors. Work will take place primarily at Bechtelsville processing facility, but some travel will be required.

This is an exciting opportunity to shape the future of regional agriculture and food systems by building the infrastructure needed to turn locally sourced tree crops into staple foods, feed local communities, and support thriving ecosystems, PA’s rural economy, and livelihoods.

As a cooperative, KTCC intends to incorporate a worker-owner membership class into our membership structure. Candidates interested in worker ownership will be strongly considered.

Responsibilities

● Help to set up processing facility spaces, including kitchen space, cold storage, nut hulling and curing space, packing and shipping space, and office space.

● Coordinate with the KTCC team and producer members to pick up and purchase crops in Pennsylvania and surrounding states and bring them to the processing facility.

● Write purchase agreements for and track tree crops through aggregation, storage, processing, and selling of value-added products.

● Collaborate with KTCC and Third Place staff to ensure that all equipment and value-added processing have appropriate standard operating procedures (SOPs). Maintain repository of SOP documents.

● Operate, maintain, and clean equipment and facility spaces in accordance with SOPs and PA Dept of Ag commercial kitchen regulations.

● Train a small number of approved operators in the safe use of processing equipment according to approved SOPs.

● Oversee and coordinate the use of processing equipment by approved operators.

● Process raw nut crops for storage, sale, and/or converting into value-added products, including but not exclusive to hickory nut oil.

● Market KTCC products (online and at events) in collaboration with the KTCC team.

● Package and ship KTCC products to retail and wholesale customers.

● Recruit producer members and secure purchases of raw crops from producer members.

● Collaborate with Keystone Development Center and the KTCC board to develop a worker member class.

Qualifications

● Passion for ecological and economic mutualism and cooperation.

● Valid driver’s license, reliable access to a motor vehicle (ideally with a trailer hitch), and willingness to use said vehicle for travel within the KTCC service area (mileage reimbursed at the federal rate).

● Ability to take and follow detailed instructions, to work in a self-directed manner and also as part of a team, and to ask for help when you need it.

● Experience with, or interest and capacity to learn: ○ Safe handling of agricultural crops and processing into value-added goods;

○ Operating and maintaining a commercial kitchen in accordance with PA Dept of Ag commercial kitchen regulations;

○ Experience with spreadsheets, data entry, record keeping, etc.;

○ Operating, maintaining, and repairing (or overseeing the repair of) large machinery; and

○ Marketing, selling, packaging, and shipping agricultural products.

Compensation

A budget of $25 per hour, 20 hours per week (Monday through Friday), for 48 weeks has been allocated for one year. Actual time worked may vary but is expected to rarely, if ever, exceed 25 hours per week. The position start date is as soon as possible.

Compensation

this position is: hourly, $20/hr +

Application instructions

Deadline

no deadline