Employment

January 21, 2025

Hiring for Farm Crew MEmber

30-40+ Hours/week, Year Round

JOB TO START AS SOON ASAP.

HIRING: Full time, year round farm crew member to join the Milkhouse in 2025. The focus of this position is milking cows, feeding, barn cleaning, calf and hog chores, and helping with herd management. During the growing season the job will include some fencing, rotational grazing, and equipment operation associated with hay making. For the right person this could evolve into a management role.

The right person for this job is passionate about and interested in sustainable food systems, local economy and community, enjoys working with farm equipment and animals, pays great attention to detail, has the patience and stamina to spend the majority of their working hours outside in a variety of weather conditions, can lift 50+ pounds, possesses great communication skills, has a valid driver’s license, and can work solo and with others. Reliability and timeliness are a must. Prior livestock and equipment operation experience is preferred.

A little more about our operation - we manage over 200 acres of pasture and hayland to support our herd of about 85 organic cattle. Between 30 and 40 cows are currently milked with the goal of milking up to 50 cows by late 2025. All feed is put up as 4x4 round bales, primarily as in-line wrapped baleage. We produce about 1,200 bales/year cut from 150 acres of perennial hayland. No chopping/corn silage. We run several tractors in the 70-100hp range, nothing new. We focus heavily on intensive grazing management with our herd of cattle and try to maximize dry matter intakes from pasture throughout the grazing season. We also raise 100 feeder hogs in our woodlot during the summer months. The Milkhouse Creamery operates on the property where all of our milk is bottled raw, made into pasteurized yogurt, or sold to local cheesemakers. The dairy and meat produced on the farm are sold at grocery stores and schools throughout central and southern Maine as well as from an honor system farmstore.

We farm & process milk 7 days a week. Our goal is for everyone who works here to feel that they are part of a working team, and to have a good sense of the whole operation that spans from farm to creamery. We try to have monthly crew lunches with the farm and creamery crew. This job is weather dependent, some weeks may be short on hours, while others will be longer. Full time hours can be fulfilled in 4 or 5 days depending on time of year, preference, and what is mutually convenient. We ensure two consecutive days off with few exceptions. Expect to work one weekend day. Reasonable flexibility in scheduling is expected for this role, but we also respect our employees' need for healthy work/life balance. Pay starts at $18/hour and increases commensurate with experience. Employees also have access to unlimited yogurt and milk and a $1/hour stipend for other farmstore goods at their wholesale price including beef, pork, eggs, bread, and produce. PTO for full time employees. Serious inquiries with long term commitment in mind are strongly encouraged. We may have housing available if needed.

To apply, please send a resume, brief letter of intent, and two references to Andy at mainemilkhouse@gmail.com. Application deadline Feb 4.

We’re not hiring for the creamery crew at the moment.

However, the three jobs listed below are examples of what we may be looking for in the future:

hiring Creamery Production Team

25-35 hours/week

We’re also open to hiring people who are interested in working less hours, although a minimum of two days a week would be ideal.

The right person for this is interested in food systems, local economy and community, enjoys working with milk and food processing, is timely, can work at a quick pace, pays great attention to detail, has knowledge of or is willing to learn basic sanitation practices, maintains patience and positivity while spending long hours in the creamery, has great communication skills, a valid driver’s license, and can work well solo and with others. Responsibilities include:

· yogurt making (heating milk, labeling, prepping, and filling containers, any and all clean up required-which is a lot!)

· understanding of yogurt production flow

· processing and packaging greek yogurt

· prepping orders & loading delivery trucks

· maintaining production records & cleaning logs that comply with state and organic certification requirements

· help to train new hires once familiar with the job

· contribute to a positive and productive work environment

· communicate with the creamery manager, creamery crew, farm crew, and business owners as needed

Weekly creamery crew meetings, monthly meetings with the farm & creamery crew. We strive for everyone who works here to feel that they are part of a working team, and to have a sense of the interconnectedness of the whole operation ranging from farm to creamery.

We farm & process milk 7 days a week. Schedule is determined 1-2 weeks in advance, but is flexible. Shifts are typically 8 hours. Employees have 2 consecutive days off with few exceptions. Hourly pay starts at $16 and is then commensurate with experience beyond that. Additionally, employees have access to the food we produce. Milk and yogurt are all you can eat within reason, and there is an additional $1/hour food stipend to be used on any goods sold in the farmstore at their wholesale price. All employees get a paid half hour lunch break. There is a range of 3-8 days paid time off per year depending on part or full time employment. Some holidays off.

Serious inquiries only. Interest in longer term commitments preferred.

To apply, please send a resume, brief statement of intent (a couple sentences will suffice!) and two references to Caitlin at mainemilkhouseinfo@gmail.com.

hiring Part time operations administrator

25-30 hours/week

This job encompasses a few different responsibilities: administrative work around organizing orders, invoices and inventory management, communication with accounts (10 hours); farmstore management (5-10 hours); and some creamery production work (5-10 hours).

The right person for this job is interested in food systems, local economy and community, enjoys working with milk and food processing, timely, efficient, and self motivated, pays great attention to detail, has knowledge of or is willing to learn basic sanitation practices, has great communication skills, a valid driver’s license, and can work well solo and with others. The ability to balance different roles is key.

Responsibilities include:

Familiarity with excel, google sheets, and quickbooks (the use of all these programs is pretty basic, so mastery of these programs is not required)
Learn systems around ordering, invoicing, & inventory for creamery
Collect orders via phone & email, make invoices & manage delivery spreadsheets
Updating employee onboarding docs & help w/ employee onboarding as needed
Pick up meat from butchers/organize/inventory of freezers
Manage all farmstore needs-stocking 2 days/week, cleaning, ordering products
Communicate with distibutor’s drivers, esp on M, T, TH (delivery days)
Adjusting invoices post delivery as needed
Run farm & creamery errands from time to time as needed ie. bank deposits, hardware, misc supplies, small deliveries etc.
Cover parts of creamery shifts if the need arises
Some customer outreach & sales
Communicate with creamery manager, creamery production team, farm crew, and business owners as needed.
Contribute to a positive and productive work environment

We farm & process milk 7 days a week. Schedule is determined 1-2 weeks in advance, but is flexible. Shifts are typically 8 hours, though there will be more flexibility around this particular job. Employees have 2 consecutive days off. Hourly pay starts at $18 and then commensurate with experience beyond that. Additionally, employees have access to the food we produce. Milk and yogurt are all you can eat within reason, and there is an additional $1/hour food stipend to be used on any goods sold in the farmstore at their wholesale price. All employees get a paid half hour lunch break. There is a range of 3-8 days paid time off per year depending on part or full time employment. Some holidays off.

Serious inquiries only. Interest in longer term commitments preferred. To apply, please send a resume, brief statement of intent (a couple sentences will suffice!) and two references to Caitlin at mainemilkhouseinfo@gmail.com.

HIRING: Part time Creamery Production Crew

~16-20 hours/week to start

The right person for this is interested in food systems, local economy and community, has experience with food processing, is timely, can work at a quick pace, pays great attention to detail, has knowledge of or is willing to learn basic sanitation practices, maintains patience and positivity while spending long hours in the creamery, has great communication skills, a valid driver’s license, and can work well solo and with others. Responsibilities include:

· yogurt making (operation of vat pasteurizer, labeling, prepping, and filling containers, any and all clean up required-which is a lot!) & milk bottling

· understanding of milk & yogurt production flow (production planning is done by other employees)

· processing and packaging greek yogurt

· maintain sanitation and production protocols, twice weekly milk testing

· once familiar with the job, help to train new hires

· contribute to a positive and productive work environment

· communicate with the creamery manager, creamery crew, farm crew, and business owners as needed

We have weekly creamery crew meetings, quarterly meetings with the farm & creamery crew. We strive for everyone who works here to feel valued, that they are part of a working team, and to have a sense of the interconnectedness of the whole operation ranging from farm to creamery.
We farm & process milk 7 days a week. Schedule is determined 1-2 weeks in advance, but is flexible. Shifts are typically 8 hours. Employees have 2 consecutive days off with few exceptions. Hourly pay is DOE $18-$20. Additionally, employees have access to the food we produce. Milk and yogurt are all you can eat, and there is an additional $1/hour food stipend to be used on any goods sold in the farmstore at their wholesale price. All employees get a paid half hour lunch break. There is a range of 3-8 days paid time off per year depending on part or full time employment. Some holidays off.

Serious inquiries only. Interest in longer term commitments preferred.

To apply, please send a resume and two references to Caitlin at mainemilkhouse@gmail.com.