Listing Information

Currently Hiring

Yes

Number of Workers Sought

4

Type of Farm

Vegetable, Other

Marketing Strategy

Community Supported Agriculture, Farm Stand, Farmers' Market, Restaurant, Wholesale, Education, Other

Marketing Strategy (Other)

We have a wide variety of on-farm programs and events, including a large email newsletter list.

Paid

Yes

Pay Rate

For experienced farmhands (coming in with a full season or more of relevant farm experience): pay starts at $16-19/ hour DOE.. Quarterly evaluations with potential for performance-based raises up to $20/ hour, or $22/ hour for individuals who take on extra responsibilities.
For novice farmhand (less than a full season of farming experience): pay starts at $14-16/ hour DOE. Potential for performance based pay raises at quarterly evaulations as skills and familiarity with our farm systems increase in the season.

All crew can take home abundant "seconds" and surplus produce for eating or preserving. They also have a 25% discount on anything at our farmstore or market booth (most folks end up with enough free goodies as to rarely need this).

What are the dates of your position?

Start: Early to mid April - exact dates can be negotiated End: The fall season ends when the fall field cleanup is complete. Usually this is between October 31st and November 15th. NOTE: These start and end dates reflect the minimum commitment needed for seasonal crew. Applicants interested in year-round farm employment are strongly encouraged to apply, with winter work schedules negotiated based on individual needs.

Are you open to shorter periods of employment or do you prefer that workers stay the full season?

Prefer full season

Housing

Yes

Explain the room and board arrangements or describe options in your area

Housing options include: two rental rooms in a shared house on the farm (max 3-4 people in the house), or two tiny-home style private cabins on the farm. The cabins are equipped with sleeping loft, power, refrigerator, electric heat and electric cook-top, wi-fi access, composting toilet, and kitchen sink. Cabins do not have running water, but are have refillable jugs and a water spigot for refilling is nearby. A bathhouse building with a heated shower, washing machine, and wood-fired sauna is next to the cabins and available for everyone on the farm. Our entire farm property is non-smoking and no tobacco use is permitted on-farm. Currently there are no on-farm housing options for part-time positions.

Please share three things you think people should know about living with you.

Our life and growth as a farm has been pretty intense; we built/ are still building our farm without a lot of experience or resources, but with an immense amount of determination and grit. People who thrive here, and who have bonded into the best seasonal teams, are generally much like us: passionate, determined, and obsessive about food and farming. Many have made an attempt or two to quit farming but find they just can’t stay away. The crew members who came to us without farm experience and did do well here all had one characteristic in common: they had experience in self-driven passionate pursuit of something they cared about beyond the limits of what most people would consider reasonable. That has included a musical career, a startup business, medical school, and fiction writing; these pursuits were totally outside of farming, but they knew what it was like to be motivated by a meaningful goal. None would consider themselves normal.

Do you have a website, social media account, or job posting anywhere else?

Yes

Describe yourself, your family, background, farming experience, philosophy, goals and interests

SweetRoot Farm is a small organic farm run by partners Noah Jackson and Mary Bricker in the center of Montana's Bitterroot Valley. With help from an additional 3-7 person team at various points in the year, we raise vegetables, herbs, flowers, and laying hens on 10 acres just outside of the town of Hamilton. Despite our cold-climate location, we are a four season farm. Using a combination of storage crops and winter greens grown in low-tech unheated tunnels, we feed locals the entire year.

Farming is a key way we participate our community by providing both healthy food and a connection to the place and people that produced it. We are very open with the community about the farm’s challenges, growth, and practices. We encourage farm members and customers to tour the farm throughout the season as we host seasonal farm events. Farm crew will find themselves welcomed by a highly engaged community of farm members and customers, as well as a vibrant local network of both established and new farmers.

Describe the physical setting of your farm and the nature of the community in which you live

SweetRoot is situated in a rural-residential neighborhood just outside of the town of Hamilton, in the center of the Bitterroot Valley. Our immediate neighbors are a mix of cattle pasture and rural homes, with a good view of both the Bitterroot and Sapphire mountains.

From the farm, the town of Hamilton is a flat bike ride of less than 2 miles. Though small, the town of Hamilton has a lot to offer, serving as a work and social hub for much of the Bitterroot Valley. The vibrant downtown offers several coffee shops, restaurants, two excellent local breweries, a micro-distillery, independent bookstore, and more. The larger university-town of Missoula is about a one-hour drive to the north for additional options. There are multiple trailheads for accessing the Bitterroot National forest and other public lands within a 5-10 miles drive, and a good swimming hole on the Bitterroot River about a half-mile from the farm.

Please see photos and read the farm newsletters at www.sweetroot.farm for more details

Describe your farm operation

In 2023 we enter our ninth season of full-time farming, with about 2.5 acres in production including four stationary unheated high-tunnels (30’x60’), and six moveable “caterpillar” tunnels (16’ x 100’). We sell through a local farmers market, a self-serve farmstore, a farm membership program and a regional food hub, a local grower's cooperative. We grow organically and with minimal tillage techniques but do not currently undergo organic certification.

Most of our production (~75%) is for direct-sales through our market, farm membership, and on-farm sales. Our wholesale crops are mainly baby greens, radishes, and boc choi for the Western Montana Grower's Co-op.

From May to October we attend the farmers market in Hamilton on Saturday mornings and serve a seasonal farm membership of about 110 households. Our self-serve farmstand is open year-round, including acting as the pickup point for a 75-household winter farm membership from November-April. As a four-season farm, we have opportunities for farm crew to work year-round with options ranging from half to full-time for the winter months to ensure some recovery and rest while also meeting people’s financial needs.

Describe the work to be performed by applicant

Responsibilities will include soil and bed prep, seeding, transplanting, cultivation, greenhouse management, irrigation, harvest of a diverse range of crops, post-harvest handling, direct-sales (farmers market and farmstore, membership pickup), animal care (laying hens), general farm upkeep, and record keeping.

What do you expect of a worker?

Members of our team should enjoy growing and eating vegetables! They have the ability to work efficiently both independently and with others, pay attention to detail, and are comfortable asking questions and asking for clarification as needed. They enjoy the personal challenge of working towards speed and efficiency goals, are prepared to work full 8-10 hour days in all the weather Montana may offer, and are prepared to repeatedly and safely lift up to 50 lbs. They are comfortable both receiving and giving feedback with the whole team.

We require crew be able to commit to at least 24-30 hours per week, with a preference for full-time (40 hrs/ week), and a minimum of 3-4 months (strong preference for the entire 6-month season April-October). We are hiring additional team members this year in order to hit our goal of not exceeding 40-hour weeks except in emergencies (with overtime pay for any extra hours). Crew can schedule up to 5 days off during the growing season, but must have these on the calendar by late April, as last-minute time off requests wreak havoc on the whole team's workflow. Part-time positions will work 3-5 days/ week, and


Describe the learning and educational opportunities available to a worker

We are in a constant process of evaluating and improving our farm, and we invite crew into both the learning and behind the scenes farmwork alongside us. If someone has specific learning goals for the season, we work with them to make a plan for professional development in addition to the basic training to farm effectively and efficiently for the season. Everyone on the team receives in-person training and feedback on any tasks they are to perform, and we have been expanding our library of quick-reference sheets, standard operating procedures, and checklists for regular/ repeated tasks. We have close ties with many farms in the region and can help facilitate visits to other farms for motivated individuals. Team members are encouraged to attend at least one of the “Field Day” events hosted by Missoula’s Community Food and Agriculture Coalition. We also have a deep archive of Growing for Market magazines, and a substantial library of farming books available specifically for crew to check out.

Are you a full-time farmer?

Yes

Do you require a trial period or require a prospective worker to visit your farm before hiring?

Yes

Trial Period Description

Whenever possible we schedule a working interview and visit to the farm to assess if we are all a good fit.

Please attach any photos of your farm and operation

Online Listing URL

http://www.sweetroot.farm/employment

Type of Farm (Other)

flowers, laying hens