About the Farm

Agricola Cooperative Farm produces organic vegetables and flowers on our 160-acre property in Papineauville, QC. Agricola is a worker’s cooperative founded in 2019, focussed on growing food for our community and creating meaningful work. You would be part of a team of 8-9 people collaborating to grow great vegetables and flowers in a dynamic, beautiful and fun environment.

In 2023, we will be producing vegetables and flowers for our 275-member CSA, a farmer’s market and our on-farm kiosk, as well for Farmhouse Food, a producer’s cooperative. Our production style is bio-intensive, semi-mechanized and low-till, and we’re actively interested in ongoing innovations in organic farming.

Job Description

We are looking for 2 people to join our dynamic, motivated and caring team. As a worker’s cooperative, we place a high value on communication, respect and teamwork, and we work to create a safe, transparent and fun work environment for all employees. If you are interested in learning about operating an organic farm and/or cooperative structures, this is a great opportunity: with 4 co-owners and 3 returning employees involved in the day-to-day operations of the farm, there will be extensive opportunities for mentorship and continued learning for those who are interested.

Tasks and Responsibilities

Farm workers will be engaged in all aspects of production on a mixed-vegetable and flower farm. Tasks will vary through the week and through the season.

Principal tasks include:

– Harvesting for CSA, producer’s cooperative, market and farm kiosk

– Washing and packing vegetables

– Field work including bed preparation, weeding, plant maintenance and transplanting

– Greenhouse work including nursery seeding, tomato pruning and trellising

– Assorted on-farm tasks (irrigation, small building projects, and much more)

– Possibility of working at farmer’s market or CSA dropoffs, depending on interest

Job Requirements

– Previous farming experience is an asset, but not required – positive attitude, willingness to learn and ability to contribute to a collaborative team environment are our top criteria

– This work is physically demanding – ability to perform a variety of repetitive physical tasks including lifting, squatting and bending for long periods of time is required

– Ability to take direction and ask questions when needed.

– Ability to work in all weather conditions

– Ability to work quickly and efficiently

– Strong communication and listening skills

– Functional spoken English and French – our working language in farm meetings includes English, and most of our customers, community and employees speak French, and so a basic comprehension of both languages is required

Job Details

– Positions will run from the beginning of May to the end of October – please note that one of the positions has flexibility in terms of start and end dates.

– 40 hours/week, Monday-Friday – please note that one of the positions has flexibility in terms of hours worked

– Employees have access to fresh vegetables and flowers from the farm

– Vacation and sick leave paid at 4% (1 paid week of vacation and 5 paid sick days for full time, full-season employees)

– Please note: No on-farm accommodations are available and applicants must have reliable independent transportation to the farm. For interested applicants who aren’t currently living in Petite Nation, the farm is situated 15 minutes or less from 3 small towns (St-Andre-Avellin, Montebello and Papineauville), and 1 hour from Ottawa/Gatineau.

Compensation

16$/hr, with possibility to increase based on experience.

How to Apply

Send us an email with your CV and an introduction letter to info@fermeagricola.com. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions at all – we are happy to provide references on our work environment from current and former employees. Please apply by February 12th at the latest – motivated applicants are encouraged to get in touch sooner!