Hall Brook Farm is a certified organic, commercial scale vegetable farm located in Thorndike, Maine; owned and operated by Pheonix and Megan O'Brien since 2014. Our mission statement is to, “Grow abundant, high quality organic produce, accessible to our community near and far, using practices that are ecologically, financially and physically sustainable.”
Our farm runs year-round. During the main growing season, we grow about 20 acres of produce in the field and 3/4 of an acre in our greenhouses. During the shoulder and winter seasons, we move indoors, growing and harvesting in our greenhouses and packing root crops. At peak season, we generally have around 12 employees, and retain 3-4 employees year-round.
We sell directly to grocery stores from Mid-coast, Maine to Eastern, Massachusetts. We also partner with a local food bank, in order to ensure our food is accessible to all. We focus on growing about a dozen vegetable crops in order to maintain the highest quality possible, increase efficiency and meet our market's needs. Some of our favorite crops are tomatoes, bunched greens, spinach and carrots!
We are a fairly mechanized farm - we utilize mechanical weed control for most cultivation and things like harvesters and conveyors for picking certain crops. This makes the job more efficient and also easier on our bodies, plus the satisfaction of feeling like we got a lot done at the end of the day.
The crew at Hall Brook Farm enjoys a fast-paced, efficient, team-oriented work environment. As managers, we emphasize clear and open communication, reasonable expectations, fair wages and fostering a work environment of inclusion, promotion and team work. We are excited to have folks who have a real interest in farming and who want to grow their skill set!
Job description
We are looking for a detail oriented, organized and efficient person to lead our seedling house and winter high tunnel production. These are both seasonal components and the right candidate would, in addition to these areas, work with the farm crew and management team to help with all other aspects of daily work on our farm. This is a year-round position.
We currently have 3/4 of an acre under high tunnels. Four of our tunnels are heated and three have environmental controls. In addition, we have a 30x90 seedling house and are in the process of constructing a new, larger seedling house.
The Winter Production Lead Component of the job will include:
working with farm owners to plan winter high tunnel crops strategically
monitoring the tunnel environment using installed climate monitoring systems/apps
tunnel upkeep and maintenance
greens specific production tasks including harvesting, covering, seeding, and prepping/turning over tunnels.
As the winter season wraps up, we would ideally have someone roll into leading seedling production.
Tasks include:
using our vacuum seeder to complete seedings
following our seeding schedule and maintaining records
filling flats using a flat filler
moving seedlings to harden off
keeping seedling organized by dat
watering seedlings and managing automatic waterer
thinning
Requirements:
vegetable farming experience and/or horticultural experience
willingness to work as a part of a team, and manage a small team when necessary
ability to work quickly and efficiently alone or in a group
ability to take directions and know when to ask questions
ability to uphold high quality standards
basic record keeping skills
Compensation starts at $20/hour plus free veggies, workers comp (PTO and overtime available to full-time employees).
This can be a part-time or full-time position and days and hours can be flexible.
Compensation
this position is: hourly, $20/hr +
Role requirements
Required skills
vegetable farming experience and/or horticultural experience
willingness to work as a part of a team, and manage a small team when necessary
ability to work quickly and efficiently alone or in a group
ability to take directions and know when to ask questions
ability to uphold high quality standards
basic record keeping skills
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