HELP WANTED: Managment Position
Nice organic dairy farm in Western NY seeks to add a management capable farmer or couple to our team. About 100 cows to milk with room for more. Well capitalized with excellent market, and good future climate potential. call or email to respond: doug murphy, dsm1@sbcglobal.net, 216-401-1052. ADDED: 8/31/23
Location: Sherman NY
CHASEHOLM FARM IS HIRING A HERDSPERSON
Chaseholm Farm seeks a highly motivated and hardworking individual who is interested in pursuing a career in regenerative livestock farming. The position is for a herdsperson who will be managing both our small dairy herd and our growing beef herd. The position is year round and starts 10/15 of 2023.
THE FARM:
Chaseholm Farm is a third generation family dairy located in New York’s Hudson Valley. We are certified Organic and 100% Grass-Fed. Our passion is growing the highest quality food and providing the highest quality care for our herd, while enhancing the ecological function of our landbase. In 2023-2024 we will be milking 10-12 cows, mostly Holstein and Jersey crosses. The milk is sold through several channels: raw, as yogurt, and made into cheese at Chaseholm Creamery. We also currently manage a herd of 60 grassfed beef cattle and raise 40 pastured pigs each year.
OUR TEAM:
Our current team (August 2023) is made up of two full time farmers and two part time staff. Our team is majority queer and Chaseholm Farm is proud to have a deeply queer friendly work environment. That said, we would be happy to welcome people of all identities to our team. Maintaining a close knit and positive work environment built on trust and mutual respect is very important to us.
QUALIFICATIONS:
Qualified applicants must be hard workers with excellent communication skills, and love and compassion for animals. Three years of dairy farming experience is a requirement; management experience is a strong plus. Tractor and Skid Steer experience is required. Must be willing and prepared to work in all weather.
JOB DESCRIPTION:
This position will include all aspects of managing a small grass-fed dairy and beef herd, including once daily milking 4-5 times per week, rotationally grazing our herds, putting up feed in the summertime, and feeding it out in the wintertime. Most of our milk is made into direct-market dairy products, so the position may include customer interactions. Dairy farming is year round, 365 days a year. Some days start early, and some days run long. That being said, we strive to manage our farm holistically, with a focus on quality of life and getting people the time off they need.
Livestock: Our livestock are to be respected and well-cared for at all times. For the dairy herd this includes feed and grazing management, fencing, milking, heat detection, coordinating with the vet when needed and record keeping. For our beef herd this means feed and grazing management, irrigation management, daily fencing, herd health observation and action, coordinating with the vet around preg checks, castrations and emergencies, and low stress livestock handling.
Milkhouse management: We are a NYS licensed raw milk dairy and so proper milkhouse management and maintenance ensures the quality and safety of our products.
Farm equipment, machinery, tools, tractors, vehicles: You will be expected to safely operate farm tools, machinery and equipment. We make most of our own winter feed as baleage and dry hay and you will have the opportunity to assist in this work.
Regenerative agriculture: We are on a journey to restore vitality to our soils in a belief that healthy soils lead not just to nutrient dense foods, but can also address the negative environmental impact that many types of agriculture have on the planet. Our path is not always clear, and often consists of trial and error in an effort to come to a closer understanding of biological systems and how to more fully support soil life.
COMPENSATION/HOURS:
This is an hourly position, starting at $18 commensurate with experience, 40-50 hours/week. Housing is available in a shared house in Pine Plains, 3 miles from the farm.
If you’d like to apply for this position, please send a current resume and a letter of interest describing your background, education, work history, farming interests, and why you would be the best fit for this role to chaseholmfarm@gmail.com. Please include three references, including their phone numbers and email addresses. We look forward to hearing from you. Contact Sarah Chase, chaseholmfarm@gmail.com, 518-339-2071. ADDED 8/27/23
Location: Pine Plains, NY
HELP WANTED: Herd Manager at von Trapp Farm, Waitsfield, VT
Job Position:
We are looking for a full time herd manager to manage essential functions of our dairy farm and pig program. On a given day, this could look like: milking shift, cow chores, monitoring cow health; driving into town to pick up food scraps for pigs (only on certain days); feeding the pigs (some days, also driving the tractor with the whey tank); monitoring pig health, inspecting pig enclosure, and making repairs; wash bulk tank, setting fencing for next pasture in the rotation, tractor work (depending on time of year, haying, spreading manure, moving round bales), driving to satellite pastures to monitor/feed/water heifers and dry cows
afternoon pig feeding/chores. This position involves coordinating with employees in the creamery, the farm store manager, as well as working with/managing fellow farm employees.
About Our Farm:
We are a certified organic pasture based dairy that milks around 45 mixed breed cows. Our on-site creamery turns their milk into award winning cheeses and yogurts. We also run a small raw milk CSA through our farm store for the local community. Along with the dairy, we raise a herd of ~50 whey fed heritage breed pigs. Our farming practices put the long-term health of the animals and the land at the top of our priority list (because we know that THIS leads to producing the best products).
Employment Classification:
Year-round, full-time salaried position. von Trapp Farmstead is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Essential Job Functions Include:
This job requires working outside in all sorts of weather, year-round.
Farm Chores (ie picking up food scraps in town and feeding the pigs, feeding/watering the cows, and milking shifts)
Maintaining milking equipment & bulk tank
Animal husbandry
Monitoring & responding to animal health
Working with local farrowers to source piglets
Tractor work
Repairing animal enclosures, feeding troughs, permanent fencing, etc.
Processing firewood
Assisting with farm building projects
Seasonally
Haying (we put up all the hay to feed the cows through winter)
Fencing rotational pastures
Felling trees in our forest for firewood
Tractor work - moving round bales, spreading manure, etc.
Ideal Qualifications:
Can lift 50+lbs on a regular basis
Written and spoken fluency in English
Preference for local applicants (possibility of on-farm or transitional housing)
Valid driver’s license (this job requires driving the farm truck)
Experience working with cows and/or pigs
Milking experience required
Animal husbandry experience required
Experience driving tractors is required
Comfortable managing other employees
Experience with chainsaws and comfort safely felling trees is preferred
Flexibility/willingness to work weekends required. (We strive to give every employee 2 days off, at least one weekend day off, each week).
Willingness to learn, to know when to ask for help or to ask questions, and a self-starter.
Benefits include:
Competitive wages ($50k-$60k salary depending on experience and job responsibilities). Paid time off for all employees working 18+ hours/week. IRA matching retirement plan. Weekly cheese or yogurt and raw milk (sometimes also beef & whey-fed pork!).
25% discount on all items sold through our farm store
To apply:
Email a description of relevant experience, 3 references, and why you want to work with us to info@vontrappfarmstead.com. You may also include a resume, though it is not required.ADDED 5/25/23
Posted: to Classifieds on Thu, Aug 31, 2023
Updated: Thu, Sep 7, 2023
