Job description

2015 Crew position at Whistle Down Farm

Whistle Down Farm is still hiring for the 2015 season. We are an organic (non-certified) vegetable and berry farm outside of Hudson. The farm is run by Eileen Wallding and Nicholas Pandjiris, who live onsite. This will be our 7th season in business together, and our third season at this location, which is a 60 acre property bordered by Taghkanic creek. Currently we manage 20 acres, with about two thirds in cover crops and straw, and one third in cash crop production. We market locally through CSA, Hudson farmers market, u-pick strawberries, and restaurant sales. We also sell to food pantries in NYC through the Local Produce Link program. We are making plans to expand our operation to include livestock and orchard fruits. Work season runs until the end of October.

Main Season Schedule:
7-12:30 Monday
7-4 tues-fri
15 min break in morning
45 min lunch

There's a possibility that sometimes we'd have you work the Saturday farmers market instead of your half day Monday.

Workdays will start at 8 come Fall (starting late September).

Our marketing outlets:

• 1080 lbs of produce/week to 4 food pantries in the Bronx and East NY through the Local Produce Link (LPL) program, organized by Just Food and United Way, late June- November.
• 45 member CSA (hoping to increase to 60), pickups at the farm.
• 4 primary restaurant accounts, with several other less regular orders.
• large contracts with the Field Goods subscription CSA program.
• u-pick strawberries in June and July.
• Hudson farmers market, saturday mornings, May-November.

We are interested in pursuing funding to be able to offer free or low-cost produce to food insecure neighborhoods in Hudson, modeled after components of the Local Produce Link program. It's possible that 2015 may be a pilot year for this project.

Harvest Schedule:
Mondays- 600 pounds for LPL (starting late June)
Wednesdays- CSA and restaurant orders (CSA pickup is in the eve, 4-7), starting mid June
Fridays- Hudson market, 480 pounds for LPL, restaurant orders (starting early may)

Job description:
Greenhouse work, transplanting, weed control, side-dressing and spraying foliar applications, irrigation, harvest, tons of strawberry picking, washing and packing produce, transplanting and tending to fruit and nut tree and blueberries, driving deliveries, pruning and trellising high tunnel tomatoes...and more.

What we're looking for in our crew members:

• Enthusiastic, hard-working, and excited about farming.
• Motivated by the challenge to work quickly while completing a task well.
• Ability to work as part of a team in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to stay on task when working alone.
• Find enjoyment in physical labor.
• Ability to stay positive in uncomfortable conditions- intense heat, cold, rain, wind, etc.
• Respectful towards other crew members.
• Energetic, positive, a good sense of humor.
• Good communicator- able to express needs and concerns clearly.
• Good use of common sense, putting thought into the task at hand.
• Commitment to food justice and an awareness of the inequities in our food system as part of a larger picture of social injustice.
• Ability to be on time, always put tools away, clean up after yourself.

Compensation:
Hourly wage commensurate with experience, plus food.

We are fast-paced farmers that take our work seriously and strive for efficiency and a strong work ethic, but we don't run our operation like a monotonous machine - We really love farming and know how to have fun and laugh in the field, and enjoy getting to know the people we work with. We aim to create a work environment that is fun, educational, fulfilling, and positive for everyone involved.

Compensation

this position is: hourly

Application instructions

Deadline

no deadline