Hiring 2017 season crew members at Kretschmann Farm!

We are seeking crew members for the 2017 season at Kretschmann Farm.
There’s also an opportunity for a person with experience to join the team beginning in December.

Farm Description
For 40 years we've had as our goal to provide local consumers with the most nutritious food possible while respecting our environment. We were pioneers in organic vegetable production as well as maintaining a small organic apple orchard of disease resistant trees. Our large CSA was one of the very first with neighborhood delivery. Our website predates Google itself.  The farm is a mature, stable, and profitable business. We are uniquely situated in the countryside, yet well within an hour of Pittsburgh, PA, with great cultural venues, educational institutions, museums, and innovation in the food movement. We have a stable professional multi-national crew with great work ethic and sense of humor.  We try to utilize and allow the talent which comes our way to blossom.

Job Description
Employees participate in a wide variety of tasks in production, sales, and delivery of organic vegetables and fruit. This includes greenhouse, field, and orchard work—from seed to harvest.
•       Commitment to full time work schedule for the farm season April-November.
   Typical hours are 7:30-5:00 with a half hour lunch break.
•       Starting wage: $12.00/hr. plus .75/hr. for all hours to complete the
season.
•       Work includes planting, weeding, harvesting, washing, packing, and
delivering organic produce.  We’ve got a full complement of machinery but there is still much work done by hand.
•       Springtime can be in the greenhouse or tilling, fitting, planting, and
tending fields.  June-November we start our regular CSA deliveries 4 days per week.  Typical days then would include picking, washing and packing as well as delivery of the CSA boxes. Winter finds us heavily involved in planning, pruning the orchard,  as well as a reduced number of winter CSA boxes.
•       Maintaining hi-tunnels and greenhouse is part of the fall through late
spring routine.
•       We are happy to share our 40 years of experience successfully growing
organic vegetables and fruit.
•       We say that the farmers always eat first--employees have access to most
of the produce we raise.
•       Housing not provided, but we’re 10 min. from a very traditional
walkable little town—Zelienople;  20 min. from very affordable-to-buy housing in older industrial Ohio River valley, or  just 45 min. from Pittsburgh’s many and varied neighborhoods.

What we expect from Employees
•       It is important that employees arrive on time and ready to work each
morning.  We mostly work in groups and a late arrival holds up everyone.
•       A good work ethic.  The work is hard physical work.  We value employees
who are fit and can remain motivated and hardworking throughout the day.  It makes the day go quickly.
•       An ability to work in groups as well as independently.  Most jobs are
with a partner or group, but it’s important to be able to work conscientiously and efficiently independently.
•       An appreciation for efficiency.  We always try to get jobs done as easily
and quickly as possible while maintaining quality. We will demonstrate what we feel are the best methods for doing this.  We expect employees to follow these instructions.  Once our method is learned, of course we are open for suggestions for how we can improve.
•       Ability to work in all weather conditions—hot, cold, wet, dry.  We
provide some raingear, gloves, and boots for extreme weather. But employees are expected to have work boots and their own gear to stay warm, dry, or comfortable throughout the workday.
•       Good communication skills, sense of humor, and flexibility.

See our website Kretschmann Farm for more about the farm and an application.

http://sfc.smallfarmcentral.com/dynamic_content/uploadfiles/29/Kretschma...

Email don@kretschmannfarm.com or call 724-452-7189