Green Fire Farm in Duncan, BC is hiring multiple Field Crew Members for the 2021 season!
About Green Fire Farm
Green Fire Farm is a diverse, 40-acre family farm producing certified organic vegetables,
flowers, fruits, hay, and raising livestock on pasture rotations. We are located in the
Cowichan Valley, not far from the trans-Canada trail, some excellent swimming holes, and
the active, yet still easy to get around, downtown of Duncan. For our production scale, we
rely on a mixed set of tractors and implements, as well as hand tools well designed for the
task. We sell at farmers markets, through a community-supported-agriculture program,
and to wholesale buyers throughout Vancouver Island.
We value the opportunity to be a meaningful contributor to our regional food system, and
keep a close eye on quality and diversity in what we grow, sell, and share with our
Vancouver Island neighbours, and neighbouring farmers.
Our production practices are informed by more than 25 years of experience with
commercial, certified organic farming, with agroecological research collaboration and
teaching connections to UBC Faculty of Land and Food Systems, multiple farmer-to-
farmer networks, and with a whole lot of the humility-and-hallelujah that comes with day-
to-day farming.
Desired Qualities
Strong candidates for any of our field crew positions will have a physical and mental
fitness level well matched for farm fieldwork. We are looking for field crew who are:
- Motivated to learn quickly and work hard, with positive work ethic and attitudes;
- Punctual, steady, and reliably *present* at work;
- Focused, with capacity to work efficiently, and to accomplish work with an eye for quality and details;
- Experienced and prepared for outdoor working conditions;
- Physically fit, with ability to comfortably perform repeated tasks on their feet, or on the knees, and/or with moderate, repeated lifting.
Job Tasks
With our crop mix and integrated livestock, we will be sharing a diverse set of seasonal
tasks on Green Fire Farm field crew. Individual interests and demonstrated strengths with
a given task will determine some of the ways these farm-operating duties are divided. The
general responsibilities may include:
- Seedling care and transplanting
- Pruning and trellising
- Cultivation with hand tools
- Crop maintenance activities- all hands here at some point in the weekly schedule
- Maintenance of field edges with power tools
- Harvesting, washing, packing duties-all hands here daily during peak season
- Livestock care and fencing
- Irrigation system establishment and maintenance
Job Details
Term: Ideally, one or two field crew will start April and continue through end of September, or into early October. We would also like to find a few field crew who will be available from
June 1-August 31–or somewhere near our estimated peak season timing for 2021.
There’s flexibility with when we begin at the earliest and finish at the latest ends of the
growing season. Some of this is tied to weather patterns, soil and field conditions, and
some flexibility will be there for finding the best personal and team fit for the farm field
crew.
Hours per week: We offer multiple field crew positions from 20-35 hours/week as a usual way of operating, though depending on the time of the growing season, experience of the applicants, and our mutual goals, there will be some flexibility with this scheduling decision.
Wage: We pay current minimum wage ($14.60 currently in B.C., with a likely increase on June 1, 2021) to start for field crew with limited previous farming experience. For field crew
applicants who have demonstrated experience and meet eligibility criteria for potential
matching funding opportunities, hourly wages from $1-2 above the current B.C. minimum
starting wage may be available for 2021.
Additional benefits include access to fresh, organic produce from the farm, training and
mentorship from experienced lead farmer, as well as the B.C. standard vacation pay,
workers comp insurance, and EI eligibility benefits.
To Apply
Send completed field crew application form, found on the Green Fire Farm website
(www.greenfirefarm.ca).
The field crew application can be downloaded from our website’s work-learn page, and sent to DeLisa Lewis at delisa@greenfirefarm.ca
When applying, please mention you saw this posting at youngagrarians.org
View more farm jobs and apprenticeships on our Job Blog.
