COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Champlain Valley Hops is the largest hop farm in New England. Located about 30 minutes south of Burlington, we grow and process premium hops for the region's growing number of craft breweries as well as home brewers. 99% of hops in the United States are grown in the Pacific Northwest. CVH is passionate about local agriculture and are proud to give brewers out East greater access to local ingredients that represent the region. 

Our farm is located in the town of Starksboro on a sandy plateau in Vermont’s Champlain Valley. We are about 10 miles from Lake Champlain and 20 miles south of Burlington. The beautiful 240 acre property was a dairy farm before we purchased the land and planted our first hops in the spring of 2018. We currently grow 10 varieties of hops on 37 trellised acres. As a relatively young farm, we are constantly working to improve our growing practices with quality, yields, and sustainability in mind. We encourage all crew members to participate in the company's development and to make suggestions when they see an opportunity for improvement.  You can learn more about Champlain Valley hops through our website(ChamplainValleyHops.com) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/champlain.valley.hops/).
 

JOB DESCRIPTION

Champlain Valley Hops is seeking hard working individuals to join our spring farm crew.  Spring season runs from early April to late June. Spring crew members will be given the opportunity to return for hop harvest, which runs from late August to late September.  Full season work may be available for the right individual.

Spring activities consist primarily of “stringing” and “training”.  Every season, new strings are hung from the top of our 18 ft trellis and are staked into the ground by our crew.  Hops are perennial plants and the season's newly emerging bines are then hand trained to grow up the strings. Like most farm work, these tasks are repetitive and physically demanding but rewarding for folks that enjoy moving their bodies and working outside.

Ideal candidates are available full time, M-F, 8-5 from early April through late June. Candidates seeking part-time work will be considered on a case by case basis.

We recognize that hops have very little (recent) history in New England, and that applicants may not have direct experience with them. We’re more focused on finding crew members who are willing to work hard, learn new skills, implement detail-oriented tasks, keep a productive pace, and work as a team. Our goal is to create a safe, fun, and inclusive work environment for our staff.

JOB REQUIREMENTS / DESIRED SKILLS

• Ability to perform repetitive physical tasks
• Desire to get your hands dirty
• Detail oriented
• Dedicated, positive attitude
• Works well as part of a team
• Adequate clothing and footwear for the frequently changing weather
• Safety mindset: understanding and adherence to safe work practices

COMPENSATION: Starting at $18.00/hour + seasonal bonus (typically an extra $1-2/hr).

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
Please send a resume and explanation as to why you are interested in this position to [email protected].

Field crew positions at Free Verse Farm provide the opportunity to experience first-hand what it takes to work on a small herb farm. The work will be mostly in the field, focused on the cultivation of herbs, with employees spending the majority of their time planting, weeding, and harvesting crops, as well as drying and processing herbs. Folx with a background and/or interest in herbalism generally find this role extremely rewarding.

Please note that we are a growing business and there is opportunity for long-term employment and growth for the right candidates!

The ideal field crew member:

● Is a hard worker who enjoys manual labor, regardless of weather conditions 
● Is able to lift 50 pounds
● Is flexible, patient, and detail-oriented
● Is comfortable working alone, as well as in a group
● Has a positive attitude and a team mentality
● Has a dedicated interest in farming and/or herbs
● Has previous farming experience (not required, but strongly recommended)
● Has reliable transportation (we re in a rural area with limited access to public transportation) and a commitment to arriving on time to work

The Details:
● Wages start at $16-19, based on experience level.
● The season runs from approximately May through October. Depending upon our needs, there may be the opportunity to begin the season earlier in the year, and/or continue farm work with us into November and December.
● Field crew members are expected to commit to the full farming season. Long trips during the farming season are discouraged, as they can significantly disrupt our season and increase the workload for our small crew. However, we always work to maintain open communication with our staff and do our best to accommodate their needs while working to minimize the impact of any time off.
● Workdays usually begin at 8 am, lasting 8-9 hours. 
● Positions are for 2-3 days per week on the farm (ideally 3), with the possibility of being full-time by taking shifts at the Farm Shop and/or Apothecary.
● There is also the possibility of extra farm work during the growing season and farm sitting for us during the occasional short trip we might take during the summer months.
● Benefits of this position include access to fresh herbs and vegetables from our farm (when available), 15% off all groceries at the Free Verse Farm Shop, first-hand instruction on growing, tending, and processing herbs, and the opportunity to expand your farming knowledge and experience while spending the summer on a beautiful hillside in Vermont.

Free Verse Farm is an equal-opportunity employer that values inclusivity and diversity in Vermont's farm community. We are a family-run business offering a respectful work environment that encourages input and feedback from employees.

As managers, we strive to establish strong lines of communication with all of our employees, as we deeply appreciate the ways that employees commit their time, energy, and physical bodies to our farm during the season. We take the physical and mental health of our employees very seriously and strive to teach and model healthy body mechanics and mind frames. We approach employee management with open-heartedness and a deep respect for each individual's needs, strengths, and interests.

To learn more & apply: 
https://www.freeversefarm.com/employment-opportunities

ABOUT OUR FARM: 
Free Verse Farm is a co-creation of Taylor Katz and Misha Johnson, two artists/farmers with a passion for growing, eating, and sharing delicious and nourishing food and herbs.

We're a small, certified organic herb farm and apothecary in Chelsea, VT specializing in naturally-grown teas, culinary herbs, bulk herbs, herbal remedies, and herbal body care. Our herbs and remedies are available at our Farm Shop, a variety of retail stores, and through our Community Supported Apothecary subscriptions.

Since 2012, we have grown medicinal, culinary, and tea herbs at our small farm, cultivating approximately 2 acres of herbs and wildharvesting from our open meadows, pastures, and woods.

Using the herbs we grow as our primary ingredients, we offer a line of herbal remedies, tea blends, herbal body care products, and culinary herbs. Our products are available in boutiques, groceries, farmstands, gift shops, restaurants, and cafés, primarily in the northeast, as well as at our own shop in the heart of downtown Chelsea.

Our herbs are harvested by hand and freshly dried right on our farm. We dry the majority of our herbs in our new, solar-powered herb drying barn, taking the utmost care to preserve the essential constituents that give each herb its flavor, potency, and magic. We handcraft our herbal products in small batches in our downtown apothecary, sourcing as many herbal ingredients as possible directly from our farm.

At Free Verse Farm, we pride ourselves on providing our community with the highest quality organic herbs and herbal remedies. We cultivate our herbs as naturally as possible through hard work and an ever-deepening partnership with the earth. We use mostly hand tools to work the soil, only composts, manures, and mulches for fertility, and never any chemicals. We believe that nothing is more satisfying, nourishing, and potent than herbs tended with loving care; we hope our herbs and products relay that passion.