We hire four full-time employees per year, plus some occasional extras when needed. We seek workers with the following characteristics:

• Desire and ability to work fast and hard under various adverse conditions
• Good problem-solving skills and ability to think on your feet
• Sense of humor and generous group spirit
• Desire to learn
• Ability to work in groups as well as alone
• Interest in animals & children
  

All workers are involved in almost every aspect of the farm operation, including:

• Field prep
• Greenhouse production
• Planting
  
• Crop cultivation
• Harvesting
• Washing and processing
• Irrigation
• Marketing and customer interaction
  
• Machinery operation
• Daily animal care for our goats and chickens (sometimes we have lambs and pigs)
  

In exchange for their labor, workers receive:

• An hourly wage of $9 - $11/hour
• Free produce and goat's milk, plus some cheese, meat, & eggs, when available
• On-the-job training in a wide range of agricultural skills
• Usage of workshop, tools, and sauna
• One week-long unpaid vacation
• Workers' comp
  

For the 2012 season, we seek two workers who are relatively new to farming, and two workers with at least one full season of experience on a production-oriented farm. Although some positions are for workers with experience who will take on more responsibilities, our ideal crew all work well together, respect each other and take on responsibilities by the middle of the season. Job requirements as follows:

Experienced Position with Specialization in Management of Greenhouse, Seeding, Harvest, and Crew

(March 1 - November 15th) – $10-$11/hour, depending on experience

This position requires excellent skills in observation, organization, instruction, and communication. Applicants must show a familiarity with many aspects of crop production, from seeding to cultivation to harvest and processing. Ability to follow directions and to think and act independently are equally important. We are looking for an applicant who is easy-going but not shy about telling people or plants what they need to do. Familiarity with spreadsheets is highly desirable. At least one full season on a production-oriented farm is required.

Experienced Position with Specialization in Machinery Operation and Maintenance

(March 15th through September, October, or November)  – $10-$11/hour, depending on experience

The person who fills this position will spend as much time alone on a tractor as they do with the rest of the crew. Applicants must have experience with tractor operation and general familiarity with tools and machinery. Applicants will need to demonstrate an ability to easily attach 3-point hitch implements and to perform basic maintenance operations. Strength, resilience, and excellent problem-solving skills are a must for this position. Construction and welding skills are also desirable but not required. At least one full season on a production-oriented farm is required.

General Farm Crew

(April or May through September, October, or November) – $9/hour

The ability to work hard and to learn are more important than previous farm experience for these positions. Applicants should be in good physical shape and ready to spend week upon week performing repetitive tasks under variously adverse conditions (heat, rain, dust, pollen, cold, etc.). Applicants must be able to move & think very quickly, to lift 50lbs with ease, to follow directions, and to accept & learn from constructive criticism. Applicants will need to have shown in previous jobs consistency, reliability, and a good work ethic.

We are now hiring for our 2012 season. If you are interested in applying, please fill out this application and return it to us by email or mail. At this moment (late December), we haven't hired any crew for the 2012 season. We will not hire any applicants without meeting and working briefly with them. Two references from previous or current employers are required.

Hours

Work hours are 7:00AM - 5:30PM, with numerous exceptions. Here are some of the exceptions:

• We begin work at 6:00AM on Tuesdays May-September and during periods of high heat
• Each crew member works on their own one Saturday morning per month
• Each crew member works until 7:30 or 8:00 one day per week
  
• The crew works until 7:00PM one or two days per week during the planting season (May/June)
  
• We begin work at 8:00AM in March/April and October/November
  

Housing

In general, we do not provide housing to our workers, but our farm is located right in Northampton, where rentals are abundant. If we hire you and you are moving from out of the area, we can provide some assistance in finding a place to live.

All Town Farm Workers receive their own office (see below). Large workspace! Excellent ventilation!

1. alternate weeks that you and your co-shareholder pick up the share, or
2. come together in the same vehicle (unless it's a bike) to reduce confusion and traffic at the farm 

We also ask that you only split your share with one other household -- please no 3-way splits.

A note on splitting shares:

Our experience suggests that splitting shares works really well for individuals & families who already know each other and communicate frequently. When the families don't know one another, the communication sometimes breaks down, and we at the farm end up feeling like we're putting more work/vegetables into a single share than is economically feasable for us. Please respect our limitations in terms of labor/infrastructure and only split a share if you can realistically follow the above guidelines. Thanks!

JUNE

Arugula, Bok Choi, Chard, Chinese Cabbage, Dill, Mixed Braising Greens, Kale, Lettuce Mix, Head Lettuce, Radishes, Scallions, Spinach, Salad Turnips, Pick Your Own Parsley

JULY

Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Chard, Cilantro, Cucumbers, Dill, Fennel, Kale, Head Lettuce, Onions, Scallions, Summer Squash and Zucchini, Pick Your Own Basil, Pick Your Own Flowers, Pick Your Own Snap and Snow Peas

AUGUST

Beets, Canteloupe, Carrots, Chard, Cilantro, Cucumbers, Dill, Asian and Italian Eggplant, Kale, Head Lettuce, Onions, Green Peppers, Hot Peppers, Summer Squash and Zucchini, Slicing and Heirloom Tomatoes, Watermelon, Pick Your Own Cherry Tomatoes, Pick Your Own Tomatillos, Pick Your Own Herbs, Pick Your Own Flowers and Sunflowers

SEPTEMBER

Arugula, Beets, Bok Choi, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Chard, Cilantro, Collards, Asian and Italian Eggplant, Garlic, Kale, Leeks, Head Lettuce, Onions, Red Peppers, Hot Peppers, Winter Squash, Slicing and Heirloom Tomatoes, Pick Your Own Herbs, Pick Your Own Flowers, Pick Your Own Cherry Tomatoes and Tomatillos

OCTOBER

Beets, Bok Choi, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery Root, Chard, Cilantro, Collards, Kale, Leeks, Head Lettuce, Lettuce Mix, Onions, Parsnips, Daikon and Red Heart Radishes, Spinach, Sweet Potatoes, Winter Squash, Turnips

Pick your own crops are offered throughout most of the season. These include flowers and sunflowers, culinary herbs, snap and snow peas, cherry tomatoes, tomatillos. As a shareholder, you can come and pick these crops during daylight hours any day of the week but Saturdays (the farm's day off).

In addition to the weekly produce variety, we have a small farm store where shareholders can purchase local foods such as fruit, salad dressings, honey, maple syrup, local meat. We sell our own eggs & meat when available.

Please note: our CSA shares do not include any berries or other fruit (including PYO), although we do occasionally offer our market berries for sale in the farm store.

All shareholders receive 10% off our products at our Tuesday Market farm stand.

Finally, we love it when our shareholders walk or bike to the farm. We encourage you, if possible, to plan ahead a little and get your exercise and your vegetables all at once. On the other hand, we never make anyone feel remotely guilty about driving to pick up their share.

Our LARGE SHARE is for 3-5 adults. The cost is $625 (about $28.40/week). The bag for this share holds a 3/4 bushel of produce.

We haven't raised the price of our share for 2 years and are due for an increase in 2012. Because of  our less than bountiful season in 2011 (thanks to a hurricane and other rain events), we're going to delay the increase another year. That said, you can expect up to a $50 increase in the cost of our shares for the 2013 season.

In 2011, we were able to offer 11 low income shares thanks to the generous donations of our shareholder community. We raised close to $1500 from you all! We are again hoping to offer up to 10% of our shares (about 15 shares) as low income shares for the 2012 season. In order to do this, we need your help. For every $2 that you donate to our low income shares, the farm will donate $1. Whatever you can contribute moves us along towards our goal -- $2, $25, $100, $190 (the actual difference between the cost of a regular share and the cost of a low income regular share), or $250 (the actual difference between the cost of a large share and the cost of a low income regular share). We think that this is a direct and empowering way to get fresh produce to people who otherwise couldn't afford it.

If you receive SNAP benefits (food stamps), WIC benefits, or Senior benefits, you qualify for our low income shares. Please contact us first if you're interested in one of these shares.

Our REGULAR SHARE for low income families or individuals is $285 (about $12.95/week).

Our LARGE SHARE for low income families or households is $375 (about $17.05/week).

We accept EBT/Food Stamps for payment of shares. Please contact us if you would like to pay this way.

We also accept the Five College Credit Union Farm Share Loan. If you qualify, it's a 6 month 0% interest loan. We prefer if you pay for your share in full when you sign up -- that way we have the financial security to pay for what we need at the beginning of the season and less paperwork to do. We understand that that doesn't work for everyone. We have a 2 payment plan option that's detailed on our sign up form. If that doesn't work for you, we recommend the 5 College Credit Union Option above.

You can split your share with another person or family. Every farm deals with splitting shares in different ways so please read the "Splitting a Share" page before signing up with a share partner.