Skilled Farmhand

Albany OR

Description

Fry Road Farm Hiring skilled farmhand. Positions now available. Starting wage: $17-$25/ hour. Hourly wage based on experience with potential increase based on your personal characteristics and capabilities. Who We Are: Fry Road Farm is a small farm near Albany, Oregon. We are a sustainable/conventional farm growing seed crops, hay and humanely-raised lamb. We have about 100 acres of seed crops, 16 acres of pasture, 15 acres of our own hay, and about 60 ewes producing 120 lambs each year. We also do some custom fertilizing, custom haymaking, custom seeding, custom manure spreading and some pasture renovation. We buy, fix-up and sell some farm machinery on the side. When it comes to livestock, we are a "high-touch" farm committed to giving an extra degree of care and attention to our animals. We have developed numerous innovative techniques for keeping our animals comfortable and productive on a very small land base. Summary: We are looking for a full-time or part-time person to work Mondays through Fridays or on the weekends if that works better for you. We would prefer a regular, weekday schedule but we can be pretty flexible. We are open to hiring two part-time people with different skill sets that together, would be able to complete most of the tasks listed below: Tasks will include maintaining, cleaning and repairing farm machinery and vehicles, welding and fabricating parts and new equipment, painting buildings and equipment, maintaining and improving existing farm buildings, constructing new structures, working with livestock (especially at lambing time), building fence, pouring concrete, planting shrubs and trees, pruning trees and vines, weed-eating, irrigating, and sometimes operating farm equipment during haymaking, seed harvest, tillage and planting. Also we want to track and improve our efficiency for tasks that we repeat each year. The person(s) who fills this position will work closely with the farm owners at times and will also work by themselves a lot. You need to be self-motivated, since there may not always be someone to direct everything you do. This position is perfect for someone who likes physical, outdoor work, shop work and a wide variety of other tasks. Mechanical, welding, carpentry, and machinery skills are important but we're willing to work with you to develop some of these skillsets. The ability to switch tasks abruptly when something new comes up that needs to be dealt with right away is also really important. Livestock experience is not necessary, but an interest in working with animals using humane practices is required. Starting wage: $17-$25/ hour. Hourly wage based on experience with potential increase based on your personal characteristics and capabilities. Requirements/Responsibilities: We’re looking for someone who has the following: 1) Valid driver’s license. A CDL would be a bonus but isn’t required. 2) Experience maintaining, cleaning, repairing and operating equipment and vehicles 3) Solid carpentry skills, including framing, plumbing, and electrical 4) Basic welding and fabrication skills 5) An interest in working with livestock 6) Fence-building skills 7) Basic concrete skills 8) An interest in lean manufacturing or farming concepts Ideally the right person will: Pay close attention to detail. Be naturally observant and pick up on the finer points of a variety of tasks. Be self-motivated, staying productive and willing to work until the days' tasks are completed. Be organized, orderly, and help improve organizational systems, such as keeping tools and buildings neat and ready for use at any time. Be capable of remembering or writing down detailed instructions. Seek direction and ask for clarification on non-routine tasks. Be able to communicate honestly and respectfully about concerns. Excel at taking initiative and getting routine things done without needing to be reminded of responsibilities. Be task oriented, willing to do any job and do it well. Be situationally aware. Be accustomed to farming and be willing to work through busy days and shorter days. Have a flexible schedule outside of work to accommodate variable hours as they change by week. Have interpersonal skills allowing you to work well with a variety of other people. Be interested in why we do things the way we do and help us refine our production practices while keeping in mind that we have tried a number of approaches and have in place a basic framework that we intend to stick with. Be adaptable, willing to learn the particular way we want things done. Be able to document tasks and use of time. Enjoy working alone at times and be okay with some work that tends to be repetitive. Please send: A description of your work experiences and why you want to work on a farm like ours. Also explain why you think you would be a good fit for the job. If we are interested in giving you further consideration, we will email a questionnaire. Please do not call or stop by the farm to get more information about this position. If, based on your response to this ad, we are interested in giving you further consideration for this position, we will email you a questionnaire.