Earth Apple Organic Farm in Abbotsford, BC is seeking Farmhands: Harvester/ Field Worker/ Prep and Packing Positions!
ABOUT Earth Apple Organic Farm
We are a small certified organic vegetable farm with a small section of blueberries that operates on a 50 acre parcel of land, namely Glen Valley Organic Farm Co-op, located on the Fraser River bordering Fort Langley. We work closely with our partner farm, Close to Home Organics, to offer a large and reputable Community Shared Harvest Box program, dabble in wholesale and also specialize in producing high quality seed and culinary garlic, #NewMountainGarlic.
We use a 56hp tractor to most of the heavy lifting, but it doesn’t get all the fun as there is still loads of hand weeding, hoeing, lifting and walking around the 5 acres of field that we have in production. Also, we have an adorable 1953 Farmall Cub that does some of the lighter worker in mechanical weeding and fertilizing. We use a walk-behind tractor for certain jobs, weed trimmer, small rototiller, pressure washer, and large rinse conveyor for some of the big wash jobs.
We are certified organic through the BC Association for Regenerative Agriculture and take good care of our soil via cover cropping, rotations and minimizing tillage where we can. We abide to many of the wonderful aspects of permaculture, but we do not consider ourselves a permaculture farm. We have been honing in on the crops that we are good at producing, increasing efficiencies on this level of production, but still are responsible for quite a wide and diverse array of vegetable crops, garlic, berries and some melons.
Our mission is to produce high quality, healthy, organic food for our local communities through cooperation and in balance with our ecological surroundings. We are also always striving to have a balanced work-life and believe this is achievable through cooperation and everyone doing their part.
DESIRED QUALITIES
We are looking for folks that are keen to embark in a career of farming that have perhaps already put in 1-2 years at another farm or in a related field. We are especially interested in finding folks that would be open to growing with us over more than one season. So if you are looking to expand your skills and knowledge and become more self-directed then consider us.
Join us if you are physically and mentally fit, flexible, strong and consider yourself resilient! Farming means long days of being on your feet and heavy lifting, a wide array of weather conditions including really hot summer days and really cold-rainy fall days, it means finding satisfaction in effectively and efficiently completing tasks both independently and with a team. We strive to move at a quick pace and at the same time make sure the job gets done right the first time!
We would be happy to accommodate a couple, but if they need housing on-site it would mean cohabitating in a tiny house.
- S/he should be able to lift up to 40 lbs & be comfortable using &/or learning to use a variety of tools & possibly farm machinery.
- An ability to be flexible, move quickly, work independently & also with a team is super important, as well as keen attention to detail.
- A positive, can-do attitude, ability to follow detailed instructions, committed, responsible, diligent & interested in becoming self-directed over the length of the season.
- Has open & effective communication, enjoys participating in problem-solving (solutions oriented) & all the challenges inherent in working with other people & outdoor/ all weather work.
- An analytical mind, capable of basic level math, a calm mind that can handle stress & a lot of repetitive work- therefore you’re into podcasts, music & good conversations!
- Enjoys good conversation to pass the time, but can gauge when to cease the convo for putting their nose to the grind to get a job done on time.
- Can follow & recall instructions consistently, knows when to ask questions to ensure tasks are completed correctly.
JOB TASKS
Depending on your previous experience there is opportunity here to grow out your skill set. However, in general we all pitch in to get the large necessary tasks done, many of which are quite repetitive, such as: pulling potatoes out of the soil (after the potato harvester has run through it), transplanting, hoeing, pruning tomatoes, packing fruit and vegetables, washing mucky produce, pulling and bunching hundreds of carrots, picking berries for hours, and so on and so forth. Some of the heavy lifting is not just lifting crates of produce, it could mean dragging ground cover from one spot to another, moving weight bags, and/or lifting bags of cover crop seed, chicken feed, and/or fertilizer.
These tasks require a positive can-do attitude! We ‘whistle while we work’ and feel satisfaction from using our minds to constantly be striving to do things efficiently, to be able to navigate through the difficult times and using our strong and capable bodies to do the physical work (think squats, bending over, & kneeling galore). We celebrate our successes, embrace challenge and produce tonnes of food!
The following include some of the categories of tasks for the above mentioned positions:
- Seeding (trays, cover crop)
- Watering and irrigation management
- Bed prep
- Laying mulch and ground cover
- Transplanting
- Weeding (hand and hoe)
- Harvesting
- Washing (bins, produce, barn and production spaces)
- Packing, bunching and bagging
- Inventory and record keeping
- Variety of safe tool & machine handling and maintenance
- Loading and unloading field truck and delivery truck
- Driving field truck
- Feeding chickens & ducks (we have a very small flock), collecting eggs, and cleaning coop.
In addition, if you are looking to live on-site in our tiny house then we expect that you pitch in on some general housing area upkeep such as grass mowing, putting out the garbage/recycling and in general pitching in where you can to contribute to the harmonious farm living community that we strive to be.
JOB DETAILS
Term: We are hiring for multiple positions and their respective start dates are specific to the position. You can learn more about the different opportunities on the employment page of our website: www.earthapplefarm.com/employment
Generally the season begins in March and goes straight through November. Part-time positions begin in April.
Considering that the position is only part of the year we are looking for folks that don’t need to take a long holiday during our growing season (especially July and August!). We are looking for commitment through the entire season, start to finish.
Hours per week: We have both part-time and full-time opportunities available. We request some flexibility in the number of hours worked within a week due to the nature of the shoulder seasons being a little slower and the peak harvest seasons being quite loaded. In 2021, when we experienced the heat dome, we couldn’t work in the afternoons and had to make up that time later on. So there is some play week to week based on the tasks of the season and what Mother Nature has to offer.
Part-time (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) 24+/- hours/week
Full-time (Monday through Friday) 40-50 hours/week
Wage: The compensation we offer is commensurate with experience and upon passing an initial assessment (probationary period). We balance between attempting to keep our modest farm business afloat and acknowledging that the current minimum wage in BC is not yet a living wage.
Wage: $16-$17+/hours worked.
Food: We also like to share our farm goodies with the crew as it is available in surplus.
Housing: We have two small/ tiny houses available for staff housing. One is already occupied and the tiny house is available for a very small rental fee.
Scenery: The property and area surrounding us is full of opportunities to explore, hike and have fun! Since we operate on a Monday to Friday work week there is ample time to get involved in other activities and projects in the evenings and weekends.
TO APPLY
Please submit a resume outlining your relevant skills, previous work experience, education and a cover letter that tells us more about you!.. and expresses why you’re interested in working with us, what you are hoping to get from the experience and how you think you can contribute to our farm team and vision. We would also need to know if you would be commuting or wanting to live on-site and whether all of the above-mentioned requirements on our end relate to your application. Send to earthapplefarm@gmail.com
When applying, please mention you saw this posting at youngagrarians.org
LEARN MORE ABOUT Earth Apple Organic Farm
Website: https://earthapplefarm.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/earthappleorganicfarm/
Instagram: @earthappleorganicfarm
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