Taft Hill Farm is a small, family farm located on an historic property in southern Vermont. Originally the home of President William Howard Taft’s father, the 38-acre property is now home to Robert, Kathy and Luc DuGrenier (Robert purchased the property in 1993). Robert is a glassblower and sculptor and has a successful design business in Townshend that Kathy manages. We produce a variety of vegetables, herbs, maple syrup, honey ,and meat, and utilize many sustainable practices to do so, including rotational grazing of our Randell Line Back cows(6) and Hair sheep (25), low-till methods, crop rotation, cover crops and more. We have a weekly booth at the local farmers market seasonally, and offered a small CSA. Our goal is for the farm to be more self-sustaining financially; we’re moving in that direction with the two agri-tourisam apartments on the property that we successfully rent out through AirBnB and we also earn money through maple syrup making classes and farm/observatory tours. We would like to expand our agri-tourism activities in a way that utilizes our existing endeavors while educating people about sustainable living, and would like to increase sales of our crops and / or create additional value-added products to our offerings.
Duties include and are not limited to:
- Daily animal care.
- Mucking animal pens and cleaning coops.
- Rotating fences to provide fresh pasture to animals.
- Using power tools to maintain, repair, and improve farm infrastructure and systems.
- Propagating and cultivating flowers and fruits, includes weeding, irrigating, pruning, trellising
- Harvesting, washing, packing produce and fruit for farmers market as well as household use
- Farm property maintenance such as shoveling snow, tool upkeep, building paddocks, tractor care and upkeep, basic carpentry, etc.
- Year-round firewood processing
- Haying
- Seasonal syrup production – set out taps, prep firewood supply, assist with boiling, bottling, labeling
- Help with AirBnB guests – greet, give farm tours, clean apartments
- Working within a budget, handling purchasing and farm sales.
Qualifications/Requirements:
- 3+ years experience in farming (livestock + vegetables)
- Ability to lift 50+ lbs and perform manual labor in all weather conditions (including subzero temperatures and hot summer days)
- Mechanical maintenance skills and experience with power tools and rudimentary construction.
- Ability to take initiative, work independently, and prioritize tasks
- Clear and direct communication skills-- the person for this job is very comfortable receiving feedback, and is also not afraid to voice new ideas and opinions when appropriate.
- Ability to work outdoors in inclement weather. We have livestock that we care for year-round and the best person for this position is someone who is committed to the welfare of animals and is dedicated to showing up to work rain or shine!
- Genuine enjoyment from working animals. It can be extremely rewarding and frustrating working with livestock. The right fit for this position would be someone who just loves to work with livestock on a day-to-day basis. We know many of our livestock by name and it is imperative that we provide them with the highest quality of care.
- Valid U.S. driver's license required, ability to drive manual transmission preferred
- Ability to commit for 1 year minimum
- Organized and ready to manage the daily detritus of a working farm
- A flexible approach to work, and an optimistic outlook.
COMPENSATION
On-farm housing in a two-bedroom cottage is possible.
This is a full-time, salaried position.
COMPENSATION
this position is: salaried, $35,00* - $50,000 depending on-farm housing.
One year commitment preferred. Please send letter of interest and resume to [email protected]