Job Opportunities
Farm Hand (filled for 2024 season)
Kat The Farmer LLC is hiring a part time seasonal Farm Hand to assist with farming operations approximately one day per week on our Certified Naturally Grown salad-centric farm in Check, Virginia.
It’s a great position for someone that enjoys plants, the outdoors, and the physical labor involved in farming. The farm hand will report to Kat, the farm owner who will provide training and oversight, but the tasks may often be independent in nature, with some opportunities to work side by side and share in the work.
On a small farm the tasks can be quite varied. A typical day might include washing nursery trays & harvest totes, weeding, planting, pulling out old plants, mulching, composting, fertilizing mowing and the odds and ends that are needed on a farm. Growing season runs March through October.
Working interviews will be held with top candidates. This position could begin in March or April with the option to add more hours or be combined with other openings.
Compensation:
$15.00/hour 4-8 hours per week
Kitchen Production Technician (filled for 2024 season)
Blacksburg Based
Kat The Farmer LLC is hiring a part time seasonal Kitchen Production Technician for its food company’s kitchen operations. The kitchen tech will fulfill orders and maintain inventory of bottled wholesome dressings by following formulas and working closely with the Farm Owner and independently.
The kitchen tech is responsible for following recipes and maintaining high sanitation practices, preparing fresh emulsified salad dressings, bottling and labeling. The kitchen tech will also be responsible for ware washing, cleaning, knife sharpening, organizing, taking inventory, making estimations, ordering ingredients, adhering to commercial kitchen rules and will report to the Farm Owner.
Kat The Farmer is a small farm and food company focusing on high quality, small batch and clean ingredients. The Farm is based in Check, VA however, commercial kitchen operations are at the Millstone Commercial Kitchen in Blacksburg, Va. As the company grows, there will be opportunities to take on leadership responsibilities.
An ideal candidate will have a great attitude, ability to hustle and be detail oriented and methodical at the same time.
Work Schedule is not a regular shift, but scheduled as inventory and orders need to be filled. May be 10-20 hours per month range.
Compensation:
$15.00-18.00/hour depending on experience.
Requirements
At least 1 year of experience in commercial kitchens
Knife skills & kitchen know how
Ability to use google workspace (sheets, docs, drawing, gmail)
Hustle and time management
Experience in safe food handling
Ability to do quality control
Can follow formulas, do basic math and recipe calculations.
Keen eye for portioning and consistent quality presentation.
Valid Driver's License
Positive, flexible, can-do attitude and willingness to learn.
Ability to work independently and execute fine details.
Must be available Thursdays consistently April-October, with some winter work ad hoc
Must be able to lift 40 lbs, bend, and stand for 8 hours
Clean and professional attire (protective gear provided)
Must be able to pass drug screening
Non-smoking workplace
To Apply
Email us and provide the following
1. Letter of interest (including availability, qualifications), 2. Resume, and 3. Two professional references
Kat Johnson, Farm owner
Katthefarmer@gmail.com
More About The Farm
Kat The Farmer LLC is a salad-centric farm and food company based in Check VA. The ¼ acre farm is known as ‘The Farmlet’ and produces Certified Naturally Grown Greens, Herbs, and Vegetables. Farm-grown and locally sourced products are showcased in a line of value added products including prepared salad, wholesome salad dressings, and other seasonal offerings. Kat The Farmer is dedicated to providing fresh ingredients as the key to a sustainable, healthy community because we believe the world's best salads are always locally grown.
The Farmlet was started in the spring of 2021, by Kat Johnson. Kat brought almost two decades of organic farming experience together to build this small and mighty farm on her small mountaintop property. She grows primarily in passive solar high tunnel structures and harvests about 9 months of the year to create a seed to salad bowl experience for a supportive [and growing!] group of customers. Her vision for the farm is to create fulfilling work that supports her family, while promoting and fortifying the larger community of food producers, and educating customers by sharing delicious, colorful, healthful and inspiring foods.
Our Products & Programs
Kat The Farmer provides salad ingredients, prepared salads and value added products to customers of the Blacksburg Farmers Market March through November. The farm also offers a variety of weekly farm subscription programs that are delivered fresh to drop sites in Roanoke, Blacksburg and Check. Additional harvest and products are made available via retail partners which include farm stores, independent grocery stores and the like.
Vision
The long range vision for Kat The Farmer is to create a thriving value added business that can drive demand for more locally grown ingredients. As our business grows it can create and grow markets for new and established local farmers to sell into profitably. Future plans may include a farmers’ cooperative delivery service, a commercial farm kitchen, and maybe one day an incubator farm to train new farmers, or ability to offer small farm loans to our producers. As we grow into this vision, and find the people, places, and resources needed to get there we hope to provide meaningful work to our staff, good wages, and lots of access to learning from the natural world.
Our Business Values
Connection - We believe that the connections we make with our community of suppliers, customers, neighbors, and service providers are of the utmost importance. The truth is we can’t do this alone- and that we all depend on one another to thrive. We cherish the opportunity to connect authentically and be a supportive and dependable member of the greater community.
Sustainability- We strive to create a business that can last without degrading the environment around it. This includes our land, our human resources, our physical health, our global health and financial health.
Quality- Creating products that are exceptional quality takes a lot of hard work, but it's worth it! We must select the right varieties and ingredients for flavor, color, vigor, and sort out anything that doesn’t meet our standards. We must handle our crops and products with care. We must always be working in line with food safety requirements. We must handle and store products properly so that the shelf life is extraordinary.
Efficiency - We believe that having the right tools, processes, and design we can find ease and enjoyment in any task and thereby eliminate wasted energy and resources on the farm. We are always looking for ways to add more efficiency on the farm and are willing to experiment and improve constantly.
Natural Growth- We believe that there is great potential to grow this business, but we want to do so at the right time and in the right way. We want to be in tune with our customers' needs, and prepare the business to seize the right opportunities when they arise.
Individual Growth- This business is not possible without the dedication of individuals who are ready to try hard, make mistakes and seek the next opportunity to learn in a supportive environment. We must advocate for our needs, take good care of our bodies, our minds, and look out for one another.
Growing Ethics
We focus on soil health as the base of everything we do.
Most work is done by hand, although we also use a small tractor and practice minimal tillage.
No GMOs or Treated Seeds, never ever.
No Synthetic Chemicals, only naturally derived inputs.
Annual Peer-Farmer Inspection, required as part of Certified Naturally Grown
Contaminant Free (field, pack shack, and practices are designed with food safety in mind).
Pollinator Friendly habitat is maintained to invite pollinators and beneficials to forage on the farm.
We are dedicated to learning from other farmers and sharing our own experiences openly so we can all grow better.
Full Transparency: customers who are curious about fertilizer, seed variety, or cultural practice- Just ask!
The Loop
Kat regularly shares stories, news, and techniques from the farm via a weekly email newsletter, instagram & facebook accounts, as well as a YouTube channel and Farmer Blog.
@kat.the.farmer @katthefarmer www.katthefarmer.com katthefarmer@gmail.com
Harvest Hand (filled for 2024 season)
Kat The Farmer LLC is hiring a part time seasonal Harvest Hand to assist with fresh farm harvest and pack on Fridays on our tiny Certified Naturally Grown salad-centric farm in Check, Virginia.
It’s a great position for someone that loves plants, has high quality standards and multitasking skills, and enjoys the benefits of taking home fresh food at the end of the day. The harvest hand will report to Kat, the farm owner who will provide training and oversight, but the tasks may often be independent in nature, with some opportunities to work side by side and share in the work.
On a Harvest day the tasks can be quite varied. A typical day might include cutting greens, bunching produce, cleaning and sanitizing bins, workstations, washing, packaging and labelling products for the market and clean up. Typical Season runs May through October.
Working interviews will be held with top candidates.
Compensation:
$15.00/hour 4-8 hours per week
Work -Trade Membership (2024 season)
Want to work 2-4 hours/ week on the farm and earn veggies while you do so? The Work Trade membership is ideal for those who want to get their hands in the dirt, and have access to local food fresh from the farm here in Check. Work Trade members are invited to work on the farm one day per week (likely Fridays) and be trained in tasks on the farm which could include anything from weeding to planting to harvesting and could be tailored to your physical abilities. At the end of the work day, work traders are able to take home their share of the harvest (equivalent to $20/hour in farm products).
