Farm Crew Member/Farm Intern – Commonplace Farm

Last Updated On: diciembre 2nd, 2022 at 09:03AM MST

Contact information

Farm Address:
2365 NE Steele Ave
Corvallis, Oregon, 97330

Primary Contact: Jeremy Mueller
Primary Phone:
    Type: Cell
    Number: 541-731-0234
    Email: Jeremy@CommonplaceFarm.com

Website: https://www.CommonplaceFarm.com

Internship information

General Farm Description: We are a certified organic salad farm, growing primarily for local grocery stores. We’ve taken a specialized approach while choosing what crops to grow, how to grow them, and who to sell them to. In the process we have built long-lasting relationships with 45 grocery stores and a reputation for consistent, fresh, high-quality greens. We have recently become Real Organic Project certified and plan to be certified Regenerative Organic soon. We are constantly working to grow the healthiest crops in the most ecological way possible which has led us to using cover crops heavily, rotating crop families, and experimenting with minimal tillage techniques for salad greens. We have consistently increased the amount of organic matter in our soil rather than depleting it. Some work on the farm is mechanized and some is done by hand. We have purchased and imported specialized equipment to make tasks easier and more enjoyable whenever possible. In 2023 we will have two farm crews of 7 people. These two crews will alternate between field work and packhouse work (e.g. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday Crew 1 will work in the field and Thursday/Friday they will work in the packhouse, etc). This means we will have a total of 14 farm crew members. We will also have Eric our field manager, a packhouse manager, 2 delivery drivers, and Ashli and Jeremy working for a total of 20 people.

CRAFT Member Farm? No

Internship Starts: around May 15th
Internship Ends: around October 31st
Number of Internship Available: 5
Application Deadline: April 15th
Minimum Length of Stay: full season

Internship Details:

All interns/farm crew members will alternate between field/greenhouse work and packhouse work. They will be trained how to do each of the tasks involved by Jeremy, Ashli, Eric, or the Packhouse Manager. 

Field/Greenhouse Work:

Harvesting- by hand with a harvest knife and with a tractor mounted bandsaw salad harvester.

Cultivating- hoeing and using a specialized tractor mounted cultivator

Transplanting-on a tractor mounted mechanical transplanter

Basic tractor safety and operating skills. 

Growing transplants and microgreens in the greenhouse. 

Weeding- around valves and along laterals

Irrigation work- Moving pipe and assembling/disassembling it.

Mowing/Weed Whacking and general property upkeep/maintenance. 

Sheet steaming- with a steam generator and tarps for weed control.

Recording field work and harvests electronically

Occasionally helping with special projects like field border insectary planting, working in the farm garden etc. 

Packhouse Work:

Triple-washing, spinning, and air drying salad greens using specialized equipment.

Packing salad into retail bags, weighing, sealing, and packing cases using packline equipment. 

Cleaning and sanitizing equipment, walk-in refrigerators, work surfaces, walls, floors, etc. 

Using pallet jacks to maneuver pallets of salad, harvest/storage crates , etc. 

Going in and out of walk-in refrigerators

Organizing and assembling orders going out to grocery stores. 

Keeping records and filling out packhouse logs

Stocking Supplies and taking inventory

Educational Opportunities: Interns/farm crew members take part in a wide range of farm tasks in the field, greenhouse, and packhouse. We also take time to have weekly meetings as a group, and monthly meetings with Jeremy and Ashli. We may also have time to visit other farms or local grocers as part of the job.

Skills Desired: We are looking for healthy, balanced, mature people who will consistently come to work on time prepared for the day. It is important for them to have some physical work experience as farming is a very physically demanding job. We are looking for people who can gracefully work with others and be a valuable team member.

Meals: We provide fresh produce from the farm and farm garden, but do not provide meals.

Stipend: For 2023: Interns/farm crew members make $15/hour. Managers and delivery drivers make $18/hour and may be year-round positions. We pay overtime over 8 hours/day of over 40 hours/week, but typically do not go into overtime. For every 30 hours worked 1 hour of “sick time” is earned which can be used to pay for time taken off due to sickness. Everyone on the farm is welcome to take home fresh produce everyday from the crops we grow. Other produce may be available at times from the farm garden, where we grow produce for our family and crew. The farm library is also a resource available to interns/farm crew members.

Housing: No housing provided.

Preferred method of Contact: Email