Camas Swale- FULL FOR 2024
POSITION: 2 APPRENTICESHIPS
FULL TIME (36-40 hrs/week)
APPROX START/END DATES: April/May - Oct/Nov
LOCATION: Eugene (Willamette Valley)
NO ON-FARM HOUSING OFFERED
VEHICLE REQUIRED? Yes
ON FARM VISIT REQUIRED? Visit preferred, or video interview if necessary.
LANGUAGES SPOKEN: English, some staff competency in Spanish and French.
Camas Swale is owned by Amber and Jonah. Our farm grows vegetables for wholesale (grocers, restaurants, food hubs, distributors) and for Community Supported Agriculture (200-250 CSA families per year). With about 14 acres in rotation– about 10 acres are producing food at any time during the main season. To get this work done we use hand tools and four small tractors. We use a John Deere, a Kubota, an Allis Chalmers and a Farmall– the latter two are from the 1930s and have belly mounted implements for cultivating. The JD and Kubota pull primary soil working tools, we mostly use a spader and bed shaper for that. The JD has forks to move pallets around the farm which saves our backs! However most of the work is still done by hand. All harvesting is by hand and about half of the cultivation is with a variety of hoes. We are certified organic with Oregon Tilth and have always grown with awareness of organic because we value and enjoy use of natural materials, growing habitat for beneficials, cover cropping and not being around harsh chemicals! During the work week six to ten employees work on the farm from 8:00 - 5:30. In addition, about four volunteers are on the farm two mornings per week.
Our sixteen acre farm is located in the Willamette Valley of Oregon on river bottom loam. We are grateful to be located just 1 mile north of Coburg and 15 minutes to Eugene. All three of our neighbors have similar sized farms selling produce, nursery crops and/or flowers. You can see the Coburg hills from our fields and a big open sky. Migratory birds and birds of prey frequent the farm as well as small animals– some friend, some foe of the vegetable crops. We are a few miles from swim spots on the Mckenzie River. Owners Jonah and Amber along with their two children aged three and seven live on the farm.
Jonah and Amber started farming on a small-scale farm, following bio-intensive methods of production yielding a high value per acre but it was intense on our bodies. Utilizing a mix of human power and tractor power has worked better for our staff and our bodies over the last ten years, while also meeting soil health goals. We keep a close eye on soil organic matter percentages, using our tillage implement minimally and returning plants to the soil through cover cropping, working past crops into the field, and through applying compost. Interests of owners besides being parents are, well– when we have time, we go on a hike or find the newest restaurant in town or see a music show or spend time with friends and family.
The farm has a family friendly environment while also maintaining work efficiency, as this is a commercial production farm. There tend to be common interests amongst staff including appreciation for music and outdoor sports, and always a respect and support for one another regardless of race or gender identity. Diverse skills and people are very welcome. We often find that passionate workers have super strengths in at least one important area and we match skills with the task as possible – such as seeding or CSA packing.
Camas Swale Farm sprouted in 2009. The farm has operated from this location since 2015. Jonah and Amber both started farming about 20 years ago, as employees for other organic produce farms.
TRAINING AND EXPECTATIONS
Everyone learns planting, cultivation, harvesting, washing/packing, and use of relevant tools. Rogue Farm Corps Apprentices will also get exposure to seeding, irrigation and some farm business management skills. Depending on strengths and interests of the Apprentice and the farm’s needs, staff often have the opportunity to take on special duties once adapted to the farm.
We prefer full -time employees over part -time, but there is a place for part-time work. For this Apprenticeship we think that our typical full time schedule would best meet the needs of the program. Our full time employee schedule during the months of May - October is M-F, 8am - 5:30 with a 30 min- one hour lunch break daily. Training will be woven into the work day and we will make a schedule for dedicated training check-ins and trainings with specific experienced staff.
We will provide mentorship and training by teaching core concepts/skills, working alongside participant(s), demonstration, opportunities to gain independence, offering time for questions or field walks, regular check-ins/meetings, and two evaluation sessions.
Training will be coordinated by co-owner Amber. Some elements are best taught by owners Jonah (field management and maintenance lead) or Amber (business management and harvest lead). Others will be delegated to one of two experienced staff, Miranda (3rd season) and Jason (11th season). The mentor team approach collectively offers a well rounded experience for an Apprentice while not pulling any one person away from their regular duties on the farm. We look forward to meeting you.
COMPENSATION / ACCOMMODATIONS
The wage for a first year Apprentice will be $14/hr (and up to $15 depending on experience– for example, if you have a full season or more of experience on a farm, we will adjust the starting wage). Our benefits include a gear stipend of $200, PTO, reimbursement of half of the RFC Apprenticeship fee amount if/when they complete the season, any farm-produced food). Scheduled time off is allowed and encouraged to promote a healthy balance of work and play but we define what is reasonable in our work agreement. Time off should be requested well in advance and approved and added to the staff calendar once approved. A reasonable amount would be 1-2 occasions of taking 1-2 days off per occasion in a coordinated fashion so that vacations do not overlap with other staff.
No housing is offered. We are 10 minutes from Eugene and Springfield. Seasonal workers in the past have had good luck with finding housing via the traveling nurses portal and finding rooms in houses in Eugene where there are college students coming and going.
QUALIFICATIONS
We expect all employees to come to work on time and be a good listener during morning meetings and during training, to ask questions as needed and to stay focused on the goals of the day. Respect, kindness and good communication are very important as are the ability to learn and do the job efficiently. Our product is certified organic local produce that looks and tastes good and is very fresh. Providing this product requires good attention to detail balanced with efficient methods of production and harvest. If you take pride in doing a good job and love working on a team outside – this could be a good place for you. There is often an acclimation period, that's understood - and we are extra supportive during the onboarding time. But, we expect to see progress and to see that there is an interest in being an effective employee and apprentice.
As for experience, we know that experienced employees come in the door with more dexterity in their hands and more understanding of what a good bunch of turnips looks like. Experience in related jobs or personal experience with vegetables should also be valued and expressed. We’ve had employees demonstrate plenty of transferable skills from working in restaurants and produce stores, for example.
EQUITY AND INCLUSION
We make our policies known in a document called Employee Work Agreement, this document includes how evaluations are done, time off policies and benefits and our process for making wage adjustments and hazardous work environment procedures and more. Job roles are presented to all staff in a document called the Command Tree.
Staff and owners are welcoming to each other every day at work. As owners we try to model communication that is kind, necessary and true. On the farm we do some things that foster community among workers including Wednesday staff lunches and occasional events. We do a few things that keep our produce accessible to all income levels – weekly donations to Burrito Brigade, a non-profit that makes thousands of burritos per week for the houseless in Eugene and Springfield, taking SNAP benefits for CSA payment, having a scholarship fund for low-income and having a Working CSA Member program.
Amber and Jonah.