Full-Time Cheese and Yogurt Maker
We are looking for someone to help us make high-quality artisan cheeses and yogurt, and to help us with farm work. This position will require about 30 to 40 hours of work per week, and will include regular Saturday work. As part of our farm team, you will be involved in all aspects of production, from farming to processing and marketing. This includes cheese and yogurt making, cheese aging work, milking cows, doing pasture work and animal chores, marketing our products at farmer’s markets and doing deliveries to wholesale customers.We are Sweet & Salty Farm, a small grazing dairy farm in Little Compton, Rhode Island. We make a variety of artisan cheeses and yogurt, and we raise some animals for meat including some grass-fed veal and pastured pigs. This is our fourth year in production. We manage our land and animals with care and respect, without the use of GMO’s, pesticides, antibiotics, or other chemicals.
Responsibilities include:
- A total of 4-5 days of work, between 30-40 hours total
- The job includes but is not limited to:
- Approximately 2-3 days working in cheese and/or yogurt production
- You will assist in every aspect of cheese and yogurt production, and will learn lots along the way;
- Dishwashing is one of the most time-consuming responsibilities; if you hate washing dishes, this job is not for you.
- At least 2 mornings milking our 15 cows and doing farm chores including but not limited to cleaning up the milkhouse and milking parlor, walking animals to new pasture, setting up fence lines for animals, moving watering stations, and feeding pigs
- Making deliveries of our products to wholesale customers
- Selling our products at one or more farmer’s markets
- Farmer’s market involves setting up tent and signage, giving samples, cutting and wrapping purchases, educating customers about farm and cheeses, and being a friendly face for our farm
What we are looking for:
- A friendly and positive attitude is a must! We are a small team and we like to enjoy our time together.
- Reliability: you will need to show up on time and be ready to work at 6:30am daily.
- The right person will be able to work independently and efficiently, or work as part of a team and get along in tight quarters in quickly moving day.
- A willingness to be flexible about the work you do each day and what type of work is required. You will learn a lot about animals and cheesemaking, but you will also need to do everything from washing dishes in a hot processing room, to scrubbing floors, to working outdoors in hot and cold conditions when doing pasture work. Dairy farming and cheesemaking involve a lot of repetitive work. It is essential to do even the most repetitive tasks very well in order to keep animals healthy and to make excellent and safe food.
- The ability to follow extremely detailed directions; we are detail-oriented and expect you to be, too.
- A strong communicator. We will be relying on you to keep us informed when you are working independently.
- An animal lover. We take great care of our animals, and you will need to also.
- This position requires energy and stamina.
- A passion for dishwashing. Have we mentioned that already?
Additional qualifications:
- Valid driver’s license and clean driving record are a must
- You must be able to lift 50 pounds.
- Experience with professional and sanitary food preparation is also valued
- No experience farming or cheesemaking is required, although a passion for food and sustainable agriculture is important.
- Tractor and equipment operation experience is helpful, but not necessary.
Timing: This position will start in April 2017 and go through late December 2017. This job requires Saturday work.
Starting salary: $14/hour
To apply, submit a brief letter of interest, a resume or description of past work, and names and contact info for two references to Laura Haverland at sweetandsaltyfarm@gmail.com.