Open Positions for 2025

  • 2 Full Time Farm Hands, April - October (32 hrs/week, Tuesday through Thursday, pay starts at $17/hr.)

    • Full time is four, eight hour work days on the farm each week. Includes paid 40 minute lunch break.

    • Ideally, one full time farm hand is interested and able to work the Saturday Farmers Market from May 3rd to October 18th. This farm hand will work four days on the farm and one day at market. Farmers market pay will be discussed later.

    • Start and end dates can be flexible.

Employment Opportunity

Raven Ridge Farm is a very small vegetable farm growing on 1 acre in Kalispell, MT. We are dedicated to human and soil health. The farm has become known in the community for providing vegetables that are beautiful, delicious, consistent, abundant, and of the highest quality that you can find. Due to the size of the operation, there are only a few employment opportunities available.

Employees will work alongside farm owners to produce food for Kalispell and the Flathead Valley in an efficient, environmentally focused manner. We farm without the use of a 4-wheel tractor. This means the work day to day includes hand tools, wheelbarrows, and your hands. We do have a walk-behind tractor (2-wheel tractor) that helps with some field prep work but most is done through human labor. April to mid-June is spent mostly prepping and planting the garden. Mid-June to mid- October is dedicated to harvesting, flipping beds for successive plantings, and weeding. While the work is diverse and always changing there will be lengths of time that can feel monotonous.

The ideal farm hand is interested in starting their own farm or is passionate about local food and gardening, works well in a fast paced environment, enjoys working hard outdoors, and is skilled at looking ahead to what’s next and how to get there. We can encourage you to develop your ‘farmer brain!

Farming in northwest Montana means that during the farm season you might expect rain, snow, wind, and extreme heat. A farm hand must be physically and emotionally strong enough to handle variable working conditions, able to repeatedly lift 40 lbs, and work on their feet for 8 hours a day. A lot of the work that we do is repetitive. Especially harvesting, bagging greens, washing roots, planting, etc.

Due to our small crew, it is important to be mindful of how your energy affects the team. Farms are a place to grow, learn, and process but at the end of the day this is a highly productive market garden that takes a lot of work to run.

Farm work is manual labor and employees are expected to be willing to do all tasks on the farm regardless of the weather. Farm hands must be willing and able to work quickly and efficiently, be detail oriented, communicate thoughtfully, and take pride in the farm’s success. We take pride in the skill and craftsmanship needed to do the job well and the fast pace work environment that comes with it. You will need to be able to listen, follow directions, and learn.

We seek to immerse ourselves, as a team, on the farm in the raw power of natures vastness and the willingness to adjust our understanding of the world in order to accommodate that experience. Our farm goes beyond “employment” to shift our perspective and empower our team to think differently, apply themselves physically and emotionally, and experience the world with a new perspective.

Job Description

  • Full time Farm Hand

A full time farm hand will learn the ins and outs of how the farm runs. Full time employees will be a part of every task on the farm from spring to fall and will gain competency in how the farm operates. Most of the time employees will work with others on tasks, often with one of the farm owners. Tasks include seeding, planting, cultivating, bed flipping, pruning and trellising, harvesting, washing, and packing of vegetables. Farm workers should have some experience and/or some familiarity with farm or garden work, be able to lift 40 lbs, and be able to sustain an 8 hour work day on their feet. No specific skills are necessary as we will train you on tasks specific to the way we do things on our farm.

  • Full Time Farm Hand Side Quest (Kalispell Farmers Market) *This position should be filled by one of the two full time farm hands.

About half of the vegetables we grow are sold at the Kalispell Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings at Flathead Valley Community College (FVCC). It gets very busy and the two of us need an extra hand! It is something that we are proud of and take seriously. This position is perfect for someone who is quick at mental math, has an eye for making a stand look beautiful, and enjoys being friendly with customers. The market runs for 25 weeks beginning the first Saturday of May. The commitment is from 8 am until 1 pm.

Requirements

Employees must:

  • Show up to work on time and ready to work each day AND have a reliable source of transportation

  • Have a positive attitude and be willing to adapt to changes

  • Be willing to work in ALL types of conditions and have the appropriate gear. The farm provides some basic rain gear, work gloves, etc.

  • Take direction, ask questions, practice, and master skills

  • Have a passion for farming, gardening, environmental, and human health

Compensation

Full time farm hand pay starts at $17/hour. Pay increases are possible but not guaranteed. Vegetables are included as they become available!

Each full time farm hand receives four days of PTO. Dates must be approved by us ahead of time.

Expectations

We expect you to be focused, ask questions, and give your best effort especially when the going gets tough. We honor your time but because of the nature of farming, it is not uncommon to sometimes work until a task is complete. Reversely, some days may end a little early based on the flow of work. We believe with proper rest, hydration, and nutrition, a week’s worth of steady, hard working labor, is a reasonable expectation on a vegetable farm. Please keep in mind that farm work is manual labor and can be difficult because of varying conditions (rain, snow, heat, etc.).

We will do our best to make your experience fun, educational, and memorable.These job positions best suit those interested in small scale agriculture and/or those interested in starting their own small scale farm enterprise.

Housing

Housing will not be available in 2025.

How to Apply

Please send a cover letter, resume, and three references to ravenridgecsa@gmail.com. We will begin interviewing in early February and will close positions as they fill. Please specify which position you are applying for. Feel free to email us with any questions that you may have.