Tractor Lead

Stoneboat Farm is hiring for a tractor lead position.  This is one of our three management rolls on our 15 acre direct to market veggie farm.  You will be responsible for a team of 1-3 people and a small fleet of tractors and implements.  You spend most of your time in the dry part of the year on or around tractors and irrigation and as you choose, spend much of the winter planning.  In the winter and the shoulder seasons, you may be working with the crew as well.

Stoneboat farm is a sustainable vegetable farm just outside of Hillsboro, Oregon.  The work is physical and outside 90% of the time, and it’s fulfilling and satisfying about 100% of the time. We sometimes spend all day bent over a row planting little plants or continuously harvesting so. much. salad. But, by the end of the season, you can see the thousands of plants producing wonderful food for our community.  Our crew is a collection of newer and experienced farmers, they are wonderful to work with, generous with their knowledge, and make our farm a really nice place to work (if I do say so myself!).  Many people stay for a number of seasons and we hope you will too!

Job Expectations:

• You are expected to lead the tractor team to make sure the tractor related tasks needed for the farm get done.  In collaboration with Aaron you will set the goals for the week (or longer) and then translate those into more specific daily lists for the tractor drivers (including yourself!).

• You are responsible to note field conditions, tractor maintenance and problems, and other things that will have an impact on the tractor work and communicate that to Aaron and to the crew lead to help with their planning.

• You are responsible for taking care of the soil as best you can (we all are!).  In your particular roll, this often means finding ways to limit tillage and make sure that the tractor passes are done when field conditions are best for that activity (monitoring soil moisture for tillage, making sure we don’t plan to pick up the celery roots with the tractor when the field is soaked).  This also means getting a plan to get cover crops in when possible.

• In collaboration with other teams, you are expected to manage irrigation moves especially as they apply to pre-irrigation for tractor work.

• You are expected to know or learn how to use the implements we have and teach others.

• You and the other tractor drivers are expected to help the crew and others who can benefit from tractor assistance.

• You are responsible for driving the tractor and performing many of the tasks on the tractor list.

• You are responsible for knowing what fertilizer goes in what field and making sure it gets there.

• You are responsible for making sure the equipment and tractor maintenance gets done.

• You are responsible to help with planning in the winter  – this could be as little as passing on what notes you have of fields and conditions and helping fill in the map of what crops went where or as complicated as making the fertilizer plan, helping plan crops rotations, or researching implements or systems.

• You may have other responsibilities as agreed by you and Aaron.

Requirements:

For all farm crew members:

Must be able to work with others to cooperatively finish tasks

Must be able to lift and carry 35 pound bins over dirt paths

Must be able to lift up to 50 pounds on occasion

Must be willing to work outside in the weather every day you are here

Must be willing to follow directions and learn from other crew members and leaders

Additional tractor driver requirements:

Must be able to take direction and then operate carefully with a very high quality of work

Must be willing to maintain equipment

Must be able to operate a tractor and equipment safely after an initial training period

Tractor lead requirements:

Must have at least 2 years of experience on a vegetable farm in a position where you worked with crops in the field.

Must have some familiarity with tractor driving.

Must be willing to manage people and feel comfortable creating a safe and respectful work environment.

Must be able to communicate to other managers and to crew to complete tasks and delegate appropriately.

Compensation:

Pay depends on experience but starts at $20 per hour.  We have paid vacation and sick time as well as a 401k.  As well as as many veggies as you can eat!