Hall Brook Farm
Hall Brook Farm is a certified organic, commercial scale vegetable farm located in Thorndike, Maine; owned and operated by Pheonix and Megan O’Brien since 2014. We grow 20 acres of produce in the field and 2/3 of an acre in our greenhouses. At peak season we employ around twelve people. We put great value and emphasis on growing high quality produce in a way that is ecologically, financially and physically sustainable.
We sell our produce to grocery stores from Mid-coast, Maine to Eastern, Massachusetts. We focus on growing a handful of vegetable crops in order to maintain the highest quality possible, increase efficiency and meet our market’s needs. We are fairly mechanized, so while there is some hand weeding, we do most of our cultivation mechanically. We are always trying to optimize efficiency and make a job as easy on our bodies as possible. We utilize harvesting equipment like harvesters and conveyors for major, bulk harvests.
Please describe the Daily/Weekly/Seasonal Activities as part of this job : We are looking for energetic, enthusiastic, hard working farmers to help with all aspects of the veggie production operation on our farm. We are a more mechanized farm, but you don’t have to have any specific experience running equipment to work here. If you’re tired of pushing wheel barrows, transplanting by hand, moving tarps or hauling heavy totes then we might be the farm for you! We value your health, and ours, and we’ve invested heavily in equipment for the sake of efficiency, comfort and career longevity.
Location
34 Berry Road Thorndike, Maine 04986
Hours and Work Season
The job goes from March until mid-November, though there is the possibility for part-time work though the off season. We are open to hiring on a part-time and full-time basis
Payment Type
Hourly
Pay
For experienced farm workers (2 years experience) pay starts at $18/hour. Otherwise, we’re starting at $16.50 DOE.
Job Description
Requirements/Qualifications:
-Willingness to work as apart of a team.
-Willingness to work rain or shine.
-Ability to work quickly and efficiently alone or in a group.
-Ability to take directions and know when to ask questions.
-Ability to uphold high quality standards.
-Good instincts around food safety.
-Basic record keeping skills.
Responsibilities/Description:
This job is definitely heavy on the picking and packing aspect of things, but tasks are varied and also include working in the greenhouses, transplanting and some weeding. We pick every day of the week during peak season, all day on Mon/Thurs and usually mornings the rest of the week, afternoon tasks vary depending on the day/week/season. During the spring there’s more transplanting and greenhouse work, summer and fall its mostly picking, packing, crop maintenance and greenhouse work. We generally start the day at 7am, and work until 3:30, but we can be flexible. Produce packing and washing happens in our newly constructed facility, where we also have a flush toilet, hot running water and an area to warm food and eat.
Benefits
- workers comp
- overtime
- PTO (for full time employees)
- free produce
- unemployment
What to Expect from Us
As managers, we emphasize clear and open communication, reasonable expectations, fair wages, fostering a work environment of inclusion, promotion and team work. We are a farm that really focuses on retention; we value paying our employees a living wage, providing as much work through the winter to as many people as reasonable and providing benefits like PTO and overtime. Our farm could not function without our crew. Our farm has grown quickly over the past handful of years and that is in part because we realize that in order for our business to be sustainable it not only needs to support our own family but that people who work here as well.
As managers, we really focus on training our employees so they feel equipped to take jobs on confidently. We are not micro managers. We currently have three returning crew members that manage certain aspects of the farm. We value an atmosphere that promotes team work and people taking on responsibilities that align with their personal strengths.
Within the next year, we will have some areas for promotion including a greenhouse assistant manager and a sales manager.
Application Details and Deadline
Please send us a resume, references and tell us a little about yourself!
Hall Brook Farm
- Physical Address
-
34 Berry Road
Thorndike, Maine 04986
- Phone
- 207-992-6020
