Details

Posted: Mon, November 11, 2024

Hillsboro, VA job

Email: moutouxorchard@yahoo.com

JOIN OUR AWESOME FUN CREW FOR 2025!

Moutoux Orchard
15290 Purcellville Rd.
Purcellville, VA 20132

Contact: Rob and Maureen Moutoux

Email: moutouxorchard@yahoo.com

Website: http://www.moutouxorchard.com, https://www.instagram.com/moutouxorchard/

General Description: We are a third generation farm in Loudoun County, Virginia. We offer a unique year-round Whole Diet CSA that includes vegetables, livestock, orchards and a small dairy herd. Our mission is to feed wholesome and nutrient-dense farm foods to our vibrant community of members. We are a managing couple with two children who are integral to daily life on the farm. We believe good food comes from good soil and we work hard to foster minerally-rich and microbially active soil that is the foundation of good health in plants, animals, and people We are proud to have received the 2015 Rural Innovation Award and the 2016 Chesapeake Farmer of the Foodshed award. We are fortunate to be part of a thriving sustainable ag community in the Greater Washington DC area, and our immediate neighbors include 5 sustainable farms.

Position Starts: March 1 – April 1
Position Ends: mid-late November
Number of Positions: 1
App Deadline: rolling
Minimum Length of Stay: Full season commitment only.

Stipend: $1350/month, plus comfortable housing, utilities, and free choice of farm food (including raw milk and yogurt, beef, pork, chicken, seasonal vegetables and fruit, eggs, variety of flours and herbs). Stipend increase for workers who stay on for 2nd and 3rd year.

Skills Desired: We are looking for a positive and cooperative attitude and a team-oriented outlook. Our fast-paced team demands good communication skills, being well organized, and reliability. Good kindergarten skills are essential- sharing, trust, understanding, forgiveness.
Productivity, speed, and alertness are very important, but only on top of the foundation of a good attitude. Lastly, a love of good food and pride in good work is essential.
We are committed to working toward a more ethical, racially just, equitable society. We encourage women, LGBTQ, non-binary and people of color to apply.

Educational Opportunities: This is a working position (not an internship). This means we learn through working. Pay attention, be observant, ask questions. You will play an integral role in production and management of a very diverse CSA, and this in and of itself should serve as a great educational opportunity. We are organizers and active members of the Chesapeake CRAFT Network, and workers are encouraged to attend CRAFT events throughout the season.

Housing: Comfortable year round housing on farm is provided.

Position Details:
We are a faced-paced, diverse production farm that grows exclusively for our year-round Whole Diet CSA program. We grow vegetables and fruits organically with an emphasis on fostering soil health and nutrient density. We manage a 100% grass-fed Jersey dairy herd, and raise 100% grass-fed beef, and pasture-raised, organically-fed laying hens, and pigs. We mix vegetable fields, cover crops, and livestock in creative ways to grow great crops and build soil. Each year we hire 3-4 excited, energetic farm hands to help with the day to day production in all aspects of the farm.
We are a diverse farm and you will be exposed to all aspects of production. Field vegetable production is the primary focus of the work—seeding, transplanting, weeding, harvesting, mulching, foliar spraying, etc. We grow all of our own seedlings and grow in hoop houses for winter production. You will participate in harvest and on-farm CSA distribution twice weekly. Workers will also do livestock chores approximately 2-4 days/week, including feeding and watering livestock, moving animals to new pasture, building livestock fence, and assisting with calves. Other responsibilities of the position include daily egg collection, dairy processing (yogurt, cheese, kefir), and some CSA outreach. There may be an opportunity to be part of the milking team for our small herd of Jersey cows. There will be minimal orchard work—thinning, pruning, and picking.

We are committed to working toward a more ethical, racially just, equitable society. We encourage women, LGBTQ, non-binary and people of color to apply.

*Please e-mail resume and cover letter to moutouxorchard@yahoo.com