Riverhill Farm is now accepting applications for three full-time farm employees for the 2016 season. Riverhill Farm is a thriving, economically successful twenty-acre farm at the end of a dead end road just three miles from the town of Nevada City. The farm is perched on the last level terrain before a 1,500 drop into the canyon of the Yuba River.
Nevada City is a thriving center for arts and music and alternative lifestyle in our region. For a small town, it has a remarkable degree of depth and community, and is wonderfully supportive of small farms and local economy. Most of our produce is sold within ten miles of the farm, and all is sold within the county.
We pride ourselves on the quality of our produce, the beauty of our farm, and our relationship with our community. We are a small, tight-knit group working together to bring beautiful produce to our community, and to enhance the lives of our community through healthy food, a healthy and diverse ecosystem, and by maintaining a farm that is open to the public. Many of our customers have children that have grown up coming to our farm, and those weekly visits to our farm stand encourage a deeper understanding and experience of our dependence on a healthy environment as well as an appreciation for the quality of good, tasty food.
Over the fifteen years that we've been in business, we've constantly adapted to enhance the economic, environmental and social viability of the farm. We've developed many systems and made many choices about what we grow for the farm to be economically viable and for the work load to be balanced, manageable and productive. As farm owners, we are fully engaged in the process and products of the farm, and we personally attend all of our farmers' markets in order to maintain a strong relationship with our customers and with our community.
We cultivate 10 acres of certified organic mixed vegetables and perennial berries. Our markets include two farmers’ markets, our farm stand at the farm which includes u-pick berries, our local natural foods co-op, and restaurants. We sell our produce direct to customers through our innovative Friend of the Farm program. More information about our Friend of the Farm program and other features of the farm can be found on our website at www.riverhillfarm.com, and you can find photos of the farm via the Riverhill Farm Facebook page and on Instagram @alan_haight and @riverhillfarmers.
The term of employment is March 1st through November 18th. End dates are flexible, but preference will be given to applicants that are able to commit to a specific term of employment in advance of their start date. Employees are paid hourly for a forty hour work week Monday through Friday and, in rotation with the rest of the crew, one farmers’ market per month on a Saturday.
Together with the farm owners and farm manager, all farm employees at Riverhill Farm work to fulfill the core responsibilities of running a successful farm:
• Propagation house production of transplants;
• Care of transplants, including thinning, irrigation and fertilization;
• Field planting;
• Field cultivation and weeding;
• Drip installation and irrigation management;
• Pruning, trellising and other crop maintenance activities;
• Harvesting and packing;
• Record keeping;
• Farm stand and farmers’ market sales;
• End of season preparations for winter, including cover cropping.
The preferred applicant will have at least 1-2 years of experience in agricultural production and be able to demonstrate increasing responsibility over time. An applicant should be internally motivated to help operate a diversified organic production system, and be able to work independently with close attention to quality and detail.
Applicants should be energetic, physically fit and without significant physical limitation. In order to be considered for employment, applicants should be able to demonstrate experience and knowledge in one or more of these areas: organic seedling production, vegetable crop production and management, cane berry production and management, general organic production practices, and experience in direct sales of farm products. Familiarity with farm machinery and equipment operations is a plus but not required.
As farmers, we hold values at the core of our stewardship of the farm. These values influence our decision-making process, scale of operation, day to day management, relationship to our community, and more. Riverhill Farm is a naturally beautiful and biologically vibrant farm, and we want to enhance, not diminish that vibrancy. Through preservation of natural features of the farm and the maintenance of perennial hedgerows and other flowering plants, through planting of marginal areas and the encouragement of native vegetation, we endeavor to preserve and enhance the abundant wildlife that considers this to be home while also benefitting from the ecosystem services this diversity can provide the production of food at the farm.
Since we stopped selling our produce through weekly subscription box CSA five years ago, we have strived to farm smarter, not bigger, and enhance the economic viability of the farm through crop and variety selection, effective marketing, high yield productivity, annual evaluation and planning, and attention to the quality of the produce we market. These efforts have resulted in making Riverhill Farm an economically viable and stable small farm model, and ensure that Riverhill Farm will remain a meaningful part of this community for years to come.
We endeavor to maintain a face to face relationship with our customers. Whether at the farmers’ markets we attend or during deliveries to the co-op and restaurants, we work to know our customers and their preferences, provide them with consistent and reliable service, and meet their needs not just for high quality produce but for relationship. We provide our customers with produce availability, recipes and more through our weekly email newsletter, and encourage our customers to become regular shoppers and good eaters of local food.
The preferred applicant must make a commitment for the term of one season, and will be given preference if he or she is competent to take on increased responsibility for farm operations and management over time, including staying on for multiple years. Areas of increased responsibility include production planning and management, irrigation management, tractor work, and yearly planning.
Housing is available, and pay is commensurate with experience. To apply, please send a detailed letter of interest and a complete resume, including at least three farm-related references to alan@riverhillfarm.com.
