Assistant Farmer Job in Maine

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Assistant Farmer Job in Maine at Ripley Farm – 2020.

Grow healthy organic vegetables.  Make a difference.  Make a living. A year-round job that helps you keep doing what you love.

Are you passionate about vegetable farming?  Do you just LOVE the work?  But, a seasonal job just doesn’t cut it in the long term, right? 

You’re not sure about spending $2,000 on an online course and loads more to start your own farm…  And you really don’t want to spend more money to go back to school…

If you know you LOVE to grow vegetables and want to find a way to make farming work for YOU, we’re here to offer you a different road to take.

Imagine a year-round vegetable farming job where…

• You work outside to grow healthy food for the community
• Your work and input makes an impact every day
• You get your questions answered about “why?”
• And you get paid a living wage.

If you LOVE growing healthy food and want to make a difference AND a living, this job is for you! 

About our farm:

Ripley Farm started out as a small farm run by a young couple with a dream and a little land.  From our humble beginning of 16 CSA members, ten years later we have now grown to 6 acres of vegetables feeding a 180-member Summer CSA, 140-member Winter CSA, and a budding Spring CSA, which supports our family and year-round employees, thanks to the support of our rural community.

Now in our second decade of farming, we find ourselves in an exciting stage of the business.  We are upgrading our farm systems and making infrastructure, marketing, and production investments that have already improved the sustainability of our family farm. 

With this Assistant Farmer Job in Maine you could be a big part of growing healthy food sustainably.

“Working for and with Ripley Farm owners, Gene and Mary Margaret, was by far my best farming experience to date.  Their attention to detail, fun loving sense of humor, work ethic, and ability to both teach and to listen is something that really inspired me as a person and a farmer.  While I was there, they included me in everything, and made me feel like an extremely valuable member of Ripley Farm.  Other farms I worked on never quite included me on all the little details that really pull a farm together, but the Ripley’s really made an effort to do just that.  I can confidently say they are some of the best farmers, teachers, and friends I know.”    Carmen Allen, Assistant Farmer 2015-17

What the Assistant Farmer Job in Maine looks like:

• Year round work – see everything, including the back-end of farming like you’ve always wanted.
• Involvement and input into all parts of production from planting to harvesting – so you can get the “why” while building your skills.
• Training in specialized equipment and techniques – to increase your proficiency in small scale market farming.
• Small farm environment – varied tasks so it never gets boring or repetitive.
• Collaboration with a small team of enthusiastic farmers – have fun while doing what you love!
• High quality standards and Certified Organic – be proud of what you produce.
• Insight into decision making processes and recordkeeping systems – so you can learn more and take on more responsibility.
• Participation in infrastructure and efficiency projects – you will meaningfully contribute to the growth and improvement of the farm.
• Regular check-ins – get and give feedback on your experience in the job.
• Annual performance review – so you can get a chance for a raise based on your hard work.

Bonuses that come with the job:

• Training in Holistic Management and Holistic Financial Planning – in the winter you will get real life experience with this important farm management tool.
• Free access to our Farmer Training Library – fuel your interest with knowledge from books, magazines, etc. on your time off.
• Unlimited free organic veggies from the farm year-round – so you can eat healthy, too!

Compensation and time commitment: 

• Competitive hourly pay rate, commensurate upon experience. Overtime hours paid at a rate of time-and-a-half.  We offer workers compensation insurance.
• The successful Assistant Farmer spends at least two years working on our farm, with a flexible start date in spring 2020, ideally March 1. Opportunity for a long term position in future.
• The Assistant Farmer works 40 hours per week, year-round. Overtime hours may be available.

“I’ve already learned more about the business side of farming in my first three weeks here than I did in two years of farming at my previous job.”  Robert Segerson, current Assistant Farm Manager

You’ve fallen in love with farming.  You can get another seasonal farmhand job, but that’s not going to cut it for you forever.  Or you can take your passion seriously.  Make it into something real. 

You’re standing at the crossroads.  To the left is the same rough rocky road you’ve been traveling.  To the right is the road fewer people will choose.  This road is not harder.  It’s different.   Choosing the right road makes all the difference.  We’re hoping you’ll choose the right road and apply today.

To apply for the Assistant Farmer Job in Maine:

1. Write a cover letter that explains what spoke to you about this job, why it is the right road for you, and when you could start.
2. Put together a list of your three best references, tell us who they are, and how to contact each of them.
3. Attach your cover letter, references, PLUS your current resume and send it to Gene at ripleyfarm@gmail.com.

 

• Learn more about farming and food jobs and internships, or learn how to post a job, internship, or apprenticeship opportunity on beginningfarmers.org by going to https://www.beginningfarmers.org/internship-and-employment-opportunities/