Position Overview
Work Activities
Vegetable production tasks including bed prep, seeding or transplanting in beds; seed starting and seedling care in the greenhouse; weeding; irrigation; harvest and market prep; possibly attending markets; moving sheep using net fencing; watering sheep; feeding and watering chickens; moving chickens; cover crop seeding; maintaining hand tools
Training Opportunities
Knowledge and experience in any of the work activities.
Minimum Qualifications
Need to be able to work in hot weather. Ability to use hand tools for weeding and transplanting for up to 4 hours (with breaks for water and snacks). Ability to deal with 40-to-50-pound bags of feed. Able to operate utility vehicle and 2-wheel tractor with training.
Desired Skills
Livestock and tractor operating experience is desirable. Attention to detail and ability to document work done, harvest quantities, and address issues.
On-Farm Housing
Not Available
About the Trainers
Michael Pipho
Trainer Experience: I am actively looking for farm help and like the idea of helping train new farmers to enhance and grow local food production in Iowa. I have been farming for 12 years. I worked as a supervisor of up to 10 employees in my early career at John Deere and later provided technical direction, training and mentoring for multiple employees until my retirement in 2020. I provided substantial mentoring at John Deere including developing and presenting training materials to engineers and service support staff, coached youth robotics teams through 4-H for high school students for over 10 years and planned and presented workshops through 4-H. My wife and I were 4-H leaders for many years. For the past two fall semesters, I taught a graduate level Systems Engineering class at UNI in Cedar Falls.
About the Farm
We raise vegetables including greens, onions, brassicas, tomatoes, peppers, and summer and winter squash, as well as a small amount of corn and beans as field crops, which we are trying to move to food grade corn and small grains. We also raise grass-fed lamb and pasture-raised chicken for eggs and meat.
Our farm is mostly no-till and vegetables are generally grown using organic processes but not certified. Row crops are no-till conventional using cover crops and working towards fully regenerative extended rotation with grazing. Sheep are rotationally grazed when pasture is available and supplemented with hay in late fall through winter and early spring. Lambing starts in April. Fully grass-fed and -finished. Chickens are rotated on pasture with feed supplement. Planning on non-GMO feed locally sourced for next growing season. We sell from the farm and at farmers markets in Independence, Denver and Dunkerton. Looking to add online sales with pickup locations.