Assistant Animal Manager
Year-round position with seasonal hours. Flexible time off. Compensation starts at $15-17/hour.
Food benefits, additional benefits, and farm store discounts also included.
General Information:
Bread & Butter Farm is a diversified regenerative farm on 600 acres in South Burlington and Shelburne Vermont. Our farm enterprises include organic vegetables, pasture-raised 100% grass-fed beef, pastured pork, year-round education programs, and on-farm markets including events featuring our food and live music. Our vision for the future includes agroforestry and a greater integration between annual, perennial, and animal systems.
We grow certified organic, no-till/low-till, hand-managed market gardens in 3 high tunnels (11,000 sq ft) and 3/4 acre in outdoor production. We focus on intensive production in small spaces. Our animal herds graze 400 acres of grasslands and woodlands. Our year-round education programs integrate kiddos, youth, and adults in all aspects of daily farm life. We offer our food in our on-farm markets including: year-round CSA and memberships, Farm Store, on-farm events such as our summer Burger Nights, and Blank Page Cafe, a partner on-farm cafe serving baked goods and meals-to-go featuring our farm produce.
Job Summary:
The Assistant Animal Manager works directly with the Animal Manager to fulfill all farm animal work, planning, and communication. This position’s primary responsibility is the daily execution of intensive grazing systems and animal welfare. Training is provided.
Specific and daily responsibilities of the Assistant Animal Manager include:
- Animal care and health checks
- Portable electric fencing set up and take down
- Portable water system set up and take down
- Permanent fencing maintenance and repair
- Permanent water system maintenance and repair
- Facilitating animal herd moves at least once a day
- Grazing design in phone map app
- Making the grazing plan and fencing design
- Record keeping including animal observations, calving, etc
- Vet and calf care including tagging and castration and as needed
- Consistent communication with Animal Manager
- Coordination with Education teams for education program involvement
- Minerals inventory and refilling
- Pig feed inventory and refilling
- Weekend chores for animals and veg production approximately one weekend every six weeks
- Weekend chores communication of fencing and water set up for other team members
- Feeding hay in winter
- Bedded pack winter management
- Tractor operation for moving hay and minerals, compost windrow management
- Animal corral system set up and coordination for handling days
- Animal road crossings
- Animal breeding, genetics tracing, and culling decisions
Qualifications in order of priority:
- The most important qualification is the ability to work alone for hours daily
- Able to work at a consistent and efficient pace, independently and as a team in a physically demanding position that requires up to 10-15 miles of walking per day in the grazing season, heavy lifting, kneeling, and continued movement for 8 hrs/day in all weather
- Ability to lift 30-50 pounds repetitively
- Strong communication and teamwork skills and a positive, creative mindset
- Grazing animal management experience strongly preferred but not required, with preferred experience with ruminants and intensive grazing
- Tractor and equipment operation experience preferred but not required
- Mechanical skills desired but not required
- Some proficiency with phone app mapping tools and GIS skills preferred but not required.
- Strong recordkeeping skills with spreadsheet proficiency
- Passion for regenerative farming and living, and values community building
- Eagerness to learn and explore opportunities and give and receive feedback
- Experience with vegetable production is preferred but not required
- Experience in experiential education is preferred but not required
- Experience with customer service is preferred but not required
Schedule and Opportunities:
- Year-round: rotating weekend chores usually 1 weekend every 6 weeks
- May - December: 24 hours/week during the grazing season
- January - April: 10 hours/week during the hay feeding season
For 2024-2025 we will be installing miles of permanent perimeter fencing and permanent water systems, and a 400 acre agroforestry project, all of which may add very substantial seasonal hours. Additionally to those hours, those seeking more hours have typically found up to full-time work with several other farm positions and opportunities that can be considered. Additional work hours are not guaranteed and are dependent on candidate experience and farm positions availability.
To apply: Please submit a cover letter, resume, and contact information for 3 (or more) references with “Assistant Animal Manager” in the subject line to [email protected]. Flexible start date January-April 2024. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled.