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).
Job Position:
We are looking for a full time livestock 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.
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 [email protected]. You may also include a resume, though it is not required.