Full Hand Farm Crew Jobs

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2019 Full Hand Farm Crew Members

Noblesville, Indiana

We are looking to add 2 full time crew members to our team for the 2019 season. These positions will each work about 40 hours a week through the main season (April – December) with the potential for part time winter hours into 2020. Experience on a production farm is not required (though definitely a plus), however consistency and an eagerness to learn are essential.

On farm housing is available for the right candidates, as is a carpool option from South Broad Ripple in Indianapolis.

About us:  Full Hand Farm is a small diverse organic farm in Central Indiana, about 30 minutes northeast of Indianapolis. We grow five acres of vegetables using a mix of mechanical and hand scale production techniques. 2019 will be our 8^th season and we have been a four season farm since the beginning.  We grow 40 different crops throughout the year but specialize in a consistent year round supply of salad greens for market. We attend one summer and two winter farmer’s markets and work with about 25 restaurants in Indianapolis.

We are first generation farmers who have learned a lot in the last 8 years and are counting on learning a lot more in the years to come. We came to this work deliberately and systematically and spend a lot of time talking about how we’ve done things in the past and how we might do them in the future. We see the farm as a living organism, each season bringing its own successes and failures. We are pretty open about the annual ups and downs with our crew and hope that transparency fosters an open and communicative learning environment for everyone.  We have been lucky enough to retain a number of employees for 2 or 3 seasons and really value the contributions our employees bring to the farm. Although this isn’t a formal internship/apprenticeship position, there are ample opportunities to learn production methods on the job and we love to answer questions, share resources and talk farming til the proverbial cows come home. Whether your goal is simply to spend a season outdoors or to start your own farm someday, we have a lot to offer.

Spy on us at our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/fullhandfarm or better yet our Instagram page, @fullhandfarm.

Full Hand Farm Crew Position Description:  We strive for a work environment that is challenging but not grueling. It is highly physical work and primary duties will change some over the course of the season. In the spring you’ll be applying compost to greenhouse beds, seeding, transplanting, and hand-weeding. These positions will also be focused on keeping up with tomato and cucumber trellising in the high tunnels throughout the season.

By mid-season the Full Hand Farm Crew hires will focus almost exclusively on harvesting, washing and packing produce for our restaurant accounts and weekly market. We do still find windows for field work each week but cutting and cleaning produce takes more and more time as the season progresses. Harvest requires fast, efficient, repetitive motions while bending, squatting, kneeling and lifting in all kinds of weather conditions.  Washing and packing requires standing for long periods and lifting 40+ pounds. Just about everything we do on the farm requires the ability to move quickly and efficiently while maintaining attention to detail and quality standards.

Each new Full Hand Farm Crew hire will be expected to work one Saturday morning market a month. Duties at the market include helping with set up, restocking produce, making fast and friendly transactions, answering questions about veggies, and helping with end of market inventory and tear down. Market hours are roughly 7am – 1pm, and can be flexed for regular hours at the farm in the week market is worked. As a market farm, we find working the market once in a while really he 2lps inform the pace and process of work on the farm during the week.   

Regular Full Hand Farm Crew work hours are Monday – Friday, 8am – 5pm with 45 minutes for lunch. During heavy harvest days in the height of summer we do start at 7 am two or three days a week. We will occasionally ask for extra help if there is significant weather on the way.

Farming is both incredibly rewarding and incredibly challenging.  This is a highly physical job that requires repetitive motions and tasks, getting dirty, spending lots of time bent over, consistently lifting 50 pounds, and working outside in weather that is hot, cold, wet, windy, humid, as well as those beautiful blue bird days we all love!  Expect your body to take about 3 weeks to physically adjust to the demands of the job.

About you: The ideal Full Hand Farm Crew candidate is comfortable in their own skin and is not afraid to ask questions.  You walk beside us between tasks, not behind us. You are fast moving, efficient, detail oriented and hard-working while being pleasant and good humored.  You have experience in some kind of physical work – landscaping, restaurants, etc. You are curious about food and food systems, whether it’s organic production methods, food policy, or just how to be a better cook with better ingredients.  You love being outside. You are able to work for long stretches both independently and with a crew. You are forward thinking and able to ask for help and clarification when you need it. You are good natured and curious. You are not offended when corrected and are able to receive and respond to constructive criticism.    

We are a small but mighty team and finding the right personalities to join our crew is important. We work hard and we work fast, but we laugh a lot along the way. We’ll teach you how to bunch kale like a boss and sling radishes at market, but we can’t teach curiosity and a sense of humor.  Those we need you to bring.

We are especially interested in talking with farming couples who are interested in living on the farm for the season.  

Compensation: Starting at $10/hour. Pay increase offered within the season based on experience and performance. End of the year bonus for finishing the season. Any vegetables the farm is producing. If housing is needed we’ll provide an RV with utilities in a secluded corner of the farm.

Start date:  Ideally April 1 for one person and April 15 for another, though this is somewhat flexible.

End date: Around Dec. 14.

To apply for a Full Hand Farm Crew Position:  Please submit a resume and cover letter/statement of interest to genesisanna@gmail.com.  Applications will be accepted and interviews scheduled on a rolling basis.

Thanks for your interest in working with us this season!

 

• 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/