Farm and Marketing Management Assistant
Riverbarn Farms, LLC/ DBA Lavender Fields Forever
3/1/2022
Position: Summer Intern 2022
Part-Time: 15-20 hrs/week plus special events
Would you like to bring your energy and ideas to a small family farm transitioning toward sustainable ag practices, environmentally friendly packaging, a restored watershed, better managed invasive species and greater community engagement? Do you love the outdoors, farms, barns, rivers, lavender and bees?
Lavender Fields Forever is located on the Applegate River, in the Applegate Valley, just outside the Medford-Rogue Valley, Oregon area. We sit on five acres on the Applegate River and have 1,000 lavender plants. We operate a lavender retail shop, online shop, u-pick farm stand and event barn. See more at www.lavenderfieldsforever-oregon.com.
Our internship offers a challenging, interesting and fun experience in a unique place. Every day will be different. Some days will be very creative - working on new product ideas, greeting visitors or supporting social media. Other days will involve hard work - weeding, watering, planting and mowing. Most days end with a dip in the river (it can be pretty hot) and maybe a float downstream. Each day will be different - never a dull moment.
Lavender Fields Forever was purchased by Rob and Marcy Rustad in late 2020 and they are semi-retired business execs/business owners living out their passions with lots of experience. Both are willing to provide mentorship and share ideas and experiences.
Qualifications/Requirements:
- Must enjoy being outdoors, working hard, playing hard
- Major in business, environmental studies, agriculture, agri-business (preferred)
- Available mid-June to early August
- GPA of 3.0+ (preferred)
- Farm experience (preferred)
- Retail/POS experience (preferred)
- Strong work ethic and self-motivated
- Strong communication and people skills
- Social media experience/interest (preferred)
- Willing to do all tasks required on a working farm and be flexible day-to-day
- Interest in completing one or more of the following projects (or propose your own):
- New product development project including marketing/social media plan and implementation
- Invasive species eradication/management plan and implementation for either blackberries or star thistle
- New business opportunities/crop options research and business plan
Work Schedule:
- Mid-June through early August
- 15-20 hrs/week plus high demand visitor days - schedule generally flexible but requires 4-5 hours on either Friday or Saturday all weeks of the Internship (unless otherwise arranged)
- Lavender Festivals Work Schedule - required days June 24, 25, 26 and July 15, 16,17 from 9:30am - 3:30pm
Work Duties:
- Working with owners on farm projects
- Greeting visitors and giving tours
- Possibly teaching or assisting with classes
- Making products for the store
- Waiting on and checking out customers in the farm store
- Assisting with marketing, advertising, events as necessary
- Watering, planting, pruning, harvesting lavender
- Drying and processing harvested lavender
- Some hand-weeding, weed-trimming and mowing
Physical Demands:
- Ability to stand/walk continuously in retail and u-pick field settings
- Ability to sit to complete computer related tasks
- Ability to complete hands-on farm work
- Ability to bend and squat as needed
- Ability to lift 30lbs
- Willing to work, as needed, in summer heat or smoke (all precautions taken to ensure comfort and safety - shift hours early/face coverings/frequent breaks)
Compensation Commensurate with experience. No housing provided. May consider space for your rv/trailer/tiny house on property (electrical and water hookups available).