VEGETABLES
FLOWERS

STRAWBERRIES
PLANTS

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

JOB
OPENINGS

GENERAL EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION

YEAR ROUND POSITION

GENERAL FARM WORKER

TRACTOR DRIVER

DELIVERY DRIVER

RETAIL SALES

GREENHOUSE ATTENDANT/MANAGER

WAREHOUSE & TRUCK LOADING

MECHANIC

OFFICE

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

PRODUCE LIST

PLANT LIST

WHOLESALE INFORMATION

HOME PAGE

Lewis Creek Farm in Starksboro, Vermont, is always looking for good help. If you enjoy working outdoors, this may be for you.

We have been growing vegetables since 1981 and in that time we have employed hundreds of people.

Our primary employment season is April through November. We can start people most any time during that period but will give preference to those who can work through the end of the season. We may be able to take on those who can only work a portion of the season, depending on the circumstances.

Starting in the spring of 2008 we will have one year round position.

Many of our positions require little or no experience, but if you have farm experience of any sort, we'd particularly like to talk to you.

Take a look at some of the job descritpions listed below.
Very often one person will fill more than one position. For instance, a Delivery Driver works 8 hrs. a week doing deliveries, and the rest of their time as a General Farm Worker.

For qualified employees, shared, on farm housing may be available for the duration of your employment.

General Farm Worker
 Jobs performed: This job involves a lot of hand work in the fields, greenhouses and packing shed. No experience is required. The tasks are simple and very repetitive. What may come as a surprise, however, is that while no experience is required, there is a considerable level of skill, focus and endurance necessary to achieve an acceptable level of production. We work in all kinds of weather from 95 degrees and sunny to 35 degrees and raining.
Requirements: You need to be in good health. For full time positions you need to be able to work 42 hrs per week including at least 4 hrs on Saturday. You will be expected to meet production standards.
Schedule: We work Monday - Friday 8:00am-5:00pm. plus Saturday morning There is one ten minute paid break for each 4 hrs worked and an unpaid lunch break of 1 hour. We try to make work end at 5:00pm but some days we run over a bit, usually 15 minutes to 1/2 an hour and rarely more than 1 hour.
Compensation: The wage was $9.50 per hour in 2007. The wage for this position is subject to change due to circumstances beyond our control. This is due to our involvement in the Federal H2A program that allows us hire foreign workers if US workers are unavailable. One condition of the H2A program is that we must pay the same wage to US worker and Foreign workers alike, and the federal government decides that wage. The wage for the H2A program is often not set untill sometime late spring. Last year's wage is a good rough guage of what that wage will be, as it usually varies less than $0.25/ Hr. up or down.
Commitment: Through November 21, 2008.

Combinations: Delivery Driver, Tractor Driver, Greenhouse Manager/Attendant, Mechanic or Farmstand Sales. Those who can drive a tractor or are willing to learn and who can help out with the retail portion of our business will be given special consideration.

On Farm Housing
 For qualified employees, shared, low cost housing may be available on the farm for the duration of your employment.

Tractor Drivers
 Jobs Performed: This job may at times require driving a tractor all day; but we try to avoid that. Most of the time this job is a generous mix of tractor driving and the same tasks involved in the General Farm Worker position. (See Jobs Performed under General Farm Worker)
Requirements: A tractor driver must have some previous tractor driving experience. Some people come to the farm with that experience, some people get it here. (See Combinations for General Farm Worker)
Compensation: The wage for this position is the same as for the General Farm Worker unless you are particularly experienced.
Reqirements, Schedule and Commitment: These are the same as for the General Farm Worker position.
Combinations: General Farm Worker , Mechanic or Greenhouse Manager/Attendant.

Delivery Drivers
 We usually have two drivers. One driver delivers to Burlington, and the other to Middlebury.
Jobs performed: These people make deliveries to stores and restaurants driving one of our 16' diesel trucks. They are our face to our customers, the only person from the farm our customers will see all season long. There is a very small amount of record keeping involved.
Requirements: You should have a good driving record. You do not need a Commercial Driver's License, but you must have a valid Vermont driver's license and you should be able to drive a manual transmission. This is a customer service position, so we're looking for someone who is pleasant, personable and polite.
Schedule: We make deliveries on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Compensation: Pay for time spent as delivery driver depends on experience, but starts at $9.00/hr. for drivers who do not require training driving our large truck.
Commitment: Tuesdays & Fridays through November 21, 2008.
Combinations: General Farm Worker, Tractor Driver or Mechanic.

Mechanic
 Jobs performed: We use a lot of machinery: Four tractors, two trucks, mowers, combines, cultivators, seeders, harvesters, etc. Most of it is old and some of it is homemade. Hank often ends up doing most of the mechanical work, but upon occasion we've found a good mechanic and things always run smoother then. It is not unusual, for us to build special vegetable equipment from scratch.
Requirements: Automotive, Welding and Carpentry experience.
Schedule and Combinations: The Mechanic is usually not a full time position by itself, but it is often combined with Delivery Driver, Tractor Driver or General Farm Worker.
Compensation: More than any other position the wage for the Mechanic depends on their experience. Lets Talk.

Retail Sales
 Jobs Performed: This position requires good people skills, and attention to detail. It is a great opportunity for someone who wants to own their own business some day. No specific experience is necessary. You will be trained in and responsible for effective produce display, point of sale promotions, signage, inventory tracking, shrinkage control, markup, overhead, labor inputs, and profit. It also involves some care of display flower beds and grounds, washing and packing of wholesale orders and occasional phone calls to take orders from our wholesale customers.
Requirements: We're looking for a motivated, responsible person who enjoys working with the public. The sales person will be working alone but under the supervision of the farm owner. This is a very exciting opportunity for the right person.
Schedule: 9:00am - 6:00pm. Business is heaviest at the farmstand Thursday through Monday, particularly Saturday and Sunday. It will be necessary to be available both Saturday and Sunday on a regular basis. However, don't hesitate to apply if you have a few weekend commitments throughout the season. We can almost always work out occasional exceptions to the schedule. Days off are Tuesday and Wednesday. Two ten minute paid breaks are provided each day along with an unpaid lunch break of 1 hour.
Compensation: Starting pay ranges from $8.50-$9.50/hr depending on experience. Commitment: Through November 7, 2008.
Combinations: This could be combined with General Farm Worker probably 3 mornings a week: Thursday, Friday and Monday as business is slow in the mornings.

Greenhouse Manager/Attendant
 Jobs Performed: This position could vary dramatically depending on your experience. If you have no experience in greenhouse work, this would be a great place to get it. You will be responsible for basic plant care in our 3 greenhouses under the supervision of the owner. If you have experience there are many possibilities for exciting projects during the many months that our greenhouses are under-utilized. Either way you will also work much of the time as a General Farm Worker.
Compensation: This depends on your experience. A person with no experience would get the same pay as the General Farm Worker.
Requirements, Schedule and Commitment: These are the same as for the General Farm Worker position.
Combinations: General Farm Worker, Tractor Driver or Mechanic.

Warehouse & Truck Loading
 Jobs Performed: Everything we grow comes into our barn to be cooled off and/or have additional packing. From there it gets loaded on our truck for delivery. It’s good to have one person responsible for the logistics of getting everything in and out of that area in an orderly and accurate fashion. Loading the truck happens early on Tuesday and Friday Mornings and is a job that requires attention to detail in order to be sure that everything that is supposed to, not only gets on the truck, but gets on in the right order. We have a great system to ensure that all our customers get what they order. The right people thrive on this job.
Requirements: This job requires a person who is organized. It also requires coming in a 7:00 AM on Tuesdays and Fridays to load the truck.
Schedule: This person is usually the last one to leave on Mondays and Thursdays, and starts at 7:00 AM on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Compensation: The wage for this position starts at the same level as for the field workers.
Combinations: This is best combined with General Farm Worker, tractor driver, mechanic or office.
Commitment: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays through November 21, 2008.

Office
 Jobs Performed: This position will really only entail a few hours a week, and would best be combined with another position. While no accounting experience is necessary, some basic computer skills are essential.
Requirements: Windows XP, Works for Windows and Excel.
Schedule: Monday and Thursday afternoons.
Compensation: Depends on experience, but would start at $9.00/hr. for time spent on this job.
Commitment: Through November 21, 2008.
Combinations: General Farm Worker, Truck Driver, Tractor Driver, Greenhouse Manager/ Attendant, Mechanic or Farmstand Retail Sales.

Year Round Position
We have a lot of seasonal positions, but we have only one year round position.
The winter position combined with any of the other positions would give you year round employment.

Winter Position.This is the position that can make your employment at Lewis Creek Farm a full time, year round job. We have recently started selling produce right through the winter. So, between wholesale deliveries, the winter Farmers’ Market, miscellaneous repair projects and starting early plants in the greenhouse in mid February, there’s plenty of work for one person right through the winter. In the summer, we work long hours, because the days are long, the season is short, and we have to make the most of it. In the winter we are able to compensate by keeping a fairly comfortable schedule. So there could be time for Skiing, or a couple of classes, or long weekends.

Jobs Performed:This is the most diverse position we have in terms of the number of different jobs preformed. They include the following: Washing and packing stored produce.; Wholesale deliveries; Winter Farmers’ Market in Burlington; Snow plowing the driveway; Indoor painting and repair projects; Seeding and transplanting in the greenhouse.

Requirements:Ideally this position would be filled by an individual who has already worked an entire growing season on the farm. That experience is not necessary, but it would be an easy way to acquire the needed skills. Those skills include driving the delivery truck; tractor driving, retail work at the farmers’ Market. Carpentry or mechanical skills while not essential come in very handy at this time of year.

Compensation: Same as for the general farm worker.

Schedule: It’s important to get the deliveries off on a regular and predictable schedule, and the winter farmers’ Market is one Saturday a month. Other than that, we have a lot of leeway in the schedule. The work week could range from 2 to 3 days a week at Thanksgiving and around Christmas and New Years, to 40 plus hours a week in early December as we’re finishing up harvest and cleaning up, or in late March when the greenhouse really gets going.

Combinations: This could be combined with virtually any other position on the farm

General Information on All Positions
  • For all positions we must deduct Social Security and withhold Federal and State taxes.
  • You will be covered by Workers Compensation Insurance.
  • We work on Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Columbus Day and Veterans day.
  • With ample notice we can arrange schedules to accommodate most individual needs.
  • At times it is necessary to work in inclement weather or in wet fields. You will need to provide your own rubber boots, we supply rain jackets and pants.
  • There is a significant amount of second quality produce which is available free for your own use.

    Feel free to contact us at any time.


    Hank Bissell
    LEWIS CREEK FARM
    P.O. BOX 123
    STARKSBORO, VERMONT 05487
    Telephone: (802) 453-4591
    E-mail: lcfarm@gmavt.net