Updated: August 7, 2023
:: 2024 Farm Crew Positions available
See description below for Farm Crew Member.  $15-18/hr based on experience.
Application instructions at the very bottom of the page. 

Broadfork Farm is a small, intentionally multi-generational, family operated, full time Certified Naturally Grown vegetable farm (plus a part time old-world style, woodfired bakery specializing in Organic, naturally leavened bread). Since 2011, we have intensively cultivated just a few acres in order to grow abundant food for our nearby community, whom we reach through our 200-member Farm Share, on-site FarmStand, Saturday farmers’ market, and select grocery stores. We grow 50 different vegetables each season. We use only biological/ecological farming methods – no chemical fertilizers or pesticides ever.
~* We are a welcoming business, committed to embracing diversity of race, religion, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, and ability. We welcome applications from those that also embrace this diversity. *~

We love delicious, nutritious food, and we love community. We combine these passions through our vibrant, fun-loving, and very hard-working farm business. We live with our four children on our farm, a quarter of our Farm Share members pick up their shares at our farm, and we host numerous events throughout each season. We are an oasis of old tyme, rural goodness…right on the outskirts of suburbia, and in close proximity to the city of Richmond and all the cultural opportunities it offers.

Farm owners/operators Dan and Janet have (in addition to 30+ years combined experience with biological farming) extensive backgrounds in biology, education, and business management, providing a well-rounded experience for farmer-employees. We love organic food, positive people, and the satisfaction of honest, hard work.

2024 POSITION OPENINGS:

Field & Pack Room Leader Positions:
Experienced farmers sought to lead Farm Crew in one or both areas: Field (bed prep, drip irrigation set up, transplanting, trellising, weeding, plant maintenance) and/or Harvest & Distribution (pick, wash, pack, organize by market channel). (The management of these two areas can be separate or shared.) Direction and supervision comes from Dan and Janet. The job of farmers in these positions is to know the work and lead via experience.

Desired: Two years experience on a diversified vegetable farm with similar market channels (FarmShare/CSA, farmers’ market, grocery stores, farm stand etc.). Willingness to learn sourdough bread-dough mixing one day per week = excellent application bonus.

• One position = Tues through Saturday work week. One position = Monday through Friday. OR these two individuals can swap weekly schedules in rotation. Usually 40 hours per week; up to 50 hours per week during busiest season, $15.50-$18/hour.
• early Feb – early December 2024 with preference for returning again the following season
• Furnished housing and abundant “Farmer Food” available.
• See list of general requirements below (basically: be physically able, intellectually engaged, kind, clean up after yourself, no drugs…)

How to Apply:
Please email a resume, phones numbers for three references, and a letter stating motivation for your interest and how you are qualified for the above stated skills to info(at)broadforkfarm.net We will follow up with additional application questions. Applications reviewed/interviews conducted on a rolling basis.

2024 Farm Crew Positions

An average day on the farm has about 8 of us here working.

We offer the opportunity to learn deeply while working; we extensively teach and mentor while training and orienting our staff to the tasks and philosophies used here.

Two staff members will learn and mix sourdough bread in our FarmStead Bakery here on the farm once per week.

Your work will include:
– Soil amending
– Seed starting & greenhouse propagation
– High tunnel and greenhouse growing; Season extension
– Transplanting and direct seeding more than 50 different crops
– Permanent raised bed management
– Irrigation and related management; drip tape and wobblers
– Intensive crop-management and rotation in a double & triple cropping bed system
– Harvest & Post-harvest handling
– Direct marketing products (through customizable Farm Share, an on-site FarmStand, and Saturday farmers’ market)
– Business strategies for small, diversified, organic vegetable farm providing a living for a family, including start-up logistics and growth considerations
…and more, experiencing the distinct seasons of a farm year in the central VA climate.

We usually coordinate 2-3 field trips to other similar-but-different farms during the fall in order to learn from other farms’ examples.

Compensation:
$15-16 per hour based on experience. Wage increases with demonstrated proficiency with skills and a positive, team-based attitude.
$500 bonus after successful completion of a full season.
Six Saturday market day shifts for extra pay or to trade for sick or vacation days as needed over the course of the season.

Furnished housing and abundant “Farmer Food” available (so. many. vegetables.) plus bread from our bakery and flowers from our fields.
Group meals are not required but are encouraged as desired and determined by the community.

Requirements for all Farmers at our farm:

– Ability to lift and carry 50 pounds, repeatedly squat and bend, moving your body in a coordinated fashion most if not all of the day, regardless of weather. (But we adjust schedule and task list as able to avoid the very worst weather. We are practical people.)

– Relevant farm work experience preferred.

– Must be able to follow directions well and balance ‘carefully-enough’ with ‘quickly-enough’ in a fast paced and varied environment.  (We move a lot of plants, compost, vegetables, crates, bins, and hoses! Farm staff need to be able to use their bodies and their minds to carry out these movements.)

– Valid driver’s license, clean driving record, and ability to participate in delivery and distribution of vegetables and bread as needed.

– Interest in and commitment to learning deeply about organic, regenerative, diversified vegetable farming and engaging in the sometimes difficult but always rewarding work of stewarding land and growing food (and flowers).

– Willingness to care for your physical self in order to stay fueled, hydrated, and protected from the sun. Willingness to care for your mental and spiritual self in order to be both a healthy individual and a healthy member of our farm staff community.

– Willingness to be detached from your phone during farm work. (No phones on your person during work time.)

– Enthusiasm to work with and around a group of people of diverse ages and backgrounds, including children, middle-aged people, and senior citizens and be a caring member of our farm staff community.

– Must commit to always cleaning up after yourself.

– We are a strictly non-smoking/non-vaping/illegal-drug-free farm. No smoking here, ever, of anything. (Participation in any of those on the farm = immediate termination.)

Most useful personal gear that we strongly recommend having:
Wide-brim sunhat.
Slip-on muck boots.
Headlamp.
Camelback/hydration system.
Rain gear.
Layers of clothing you are willing to get very dirty.

How to Apply:
Please email a resume, phones numbers for three references, and a letter stating motivation for your interest and how you are qualified for the above stated skills to info(at)broadforkfarm.net We will follow up with additional application questions. Applications reviewed/interviews conducted on a rolling basis. 

We look forward to getting to know you!

More about us…

• We are professional but not corporate.
• We teach and guide through gentle and patient explanation, but we also show how and when to move fast.
• We are soil nerds and business nerds. We model how to be smart about both.
• We stress kindness above most all else.
• We’re a family friendly farm and business.
• We are a strictly no-smoking, no-vaping, no marijuana, no-illegal drugs farm. (Participation in any of these on the farm results in immediate termination.)

Plus….there are cats. A few of them.