Seasonal Employment

Crossroads Community Farm (located in Cross Plains, WI – near Madison) is a certified organic vegetable farm. We are queer-owned, co-owned and operated, and committed to creating a safe and welcoming space for everyone to work. We are a well-established production farm, and as we mature, we continue to expand our food/racial justice work. For the 2026 season we have several open field positions.

Farm work is difficult. Farm work is HARD. Farm work is brutaful – brutal and beautiful all wrapped up in one. This job requires moving your body and lifting crates of food in the elements all day. It can be brutal. It will probably be one of the hardest jobs you’ll ever have. And yet, it will be beautiful too. We grow gorgeous food and no doubt you will work with incredible humans.

Each field position has slightly different starting and end dates (see below for more details) though the nature of the positions are generally the same. A field position at our farm involves hard work with your body, as you help us to transplant, weed, harvest, and wash vegetables. Crew members work 38 hour weeks in the field, in every possible weather condition.

We will begin hiring in late January/early February and will do so on a rolling basis until positions are full, usually end of March.

Components of Job:

• Daily physical field work, including: transplanting, row-covering, weeding, harvesting, washing, and packing
• Working at an efficient pace
• Frequent bending and kneeling to the ground
• Working outside in all weather conditions
• Frequent heavy lifting of 25-45 pounds
• Working with others in a crew
• Receiving and following verbal instruction
• Communicating clearly and often with the farm team

Desired Skills/Experience:

• At least one full season on a vegetable farm or other farm experience
• Ability to appropriately balance speed and quality of work
• Excellent verbal communication skills and ability to follow directions
• Able to move body efficiently with sufficient stamina

Compensation:

We believe in paying a living wage. The 2026 starting wage at our farm is $16.84/hour. The season-end bonus brings typically brings that up to $17.84/hour starting.

Benefits:

• Access to surplus organic produce
• $115 rain gear reimbursement
• Commitment-end bonus, typically $1/hour worked
• Optional retirement IRA with farm match

Positions & Timing:

All shifts run from 7:30-5:30 pm with a half hour lunch break. We typically have a crew of about 10-12 people working each weekday. There is no weekend work.

• Full-time Field Crew. Working 38 hour weeks, 4 days/week.
• Part-Time Field Crew. Working 2-3 days per week. 9.5 hours/day. (typically only hire folks with experience)

All full-time positions span from early June through early October. A smaller number of these positions start earlier (May) and span later, with full-time hours going through October and November.

Part-time positions typically run from June through October.

Equal Opportunity Policy: 

We value diversity in our workforce just as we value diversity on the land, for many of the same reasons. A range of cultural, ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds gives us the variety of experiences and perspectives that make us stronger, more resilient, and better able to cope with the many challenges that come with doing our work. Women, people of color, and individuals with
diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

To Apply:

Apply HERE on our online form (it’s pretty short and asks you to attach your resume/job history).  Qualified applicants will be contacted to set up an interview.

Application Deadline: We are currently accepting applications, and will begin reviewing them and conducing interviews in late January until all positions are filled (usually by end of March).

Full Time: 40 hours per week
Start Date: Preferred start in May 2026
Season Notes: In January- April there are limited hours. Commitment: Requires a commitment to work the full season through the end of Dec 2026. We prefer a commitment of at least 2 years.
Schedule: Monday- Thursday

We seek one talented individual to run our dynamic, well-organized packshed. This is an essential and valuable role on the farm, being the final point between the fields and our customers. The ideal applicant would enjoy organization and systems, be skilled at training and leading the work of others, have excellent attention to detail, be adept at multi-tasking, be able to work quickly and accurately, uphold and communicate about quality standards, and have strong verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

* Manage all aspects of washing, packing and distributing produce
* Train and directly oversee staff in packshed
* Track & communicate inventories
* Coordinate produce movement in and out of the packshed and storage areas
* Ensure packshed, cooler, and all packing locations are operating safely and efficiently
* Communicate effectively with harvest teams and farm manager/owner
* Meet deadlines by making time estimates and communicating staffing needs
* Work at a fast but sustainable pace and teach others to as well
* Maintain high quality standards throughout a variety of changing variables
* Oversee daily truck loading and deliveries* Communicate frequently via cell phone and 2-way radio

* Complete occasional tasks outside of the packshed, either in the fields or greenhouse

Preferred Background and Skills
* One year experience in a dynamic, fast-paced indoor environment, such as farm packshed, warehouse or grocery store
* Produce farm experience
* Produce handling experience- farm, farmers market or grocery store
* People management experience
* Excellent attention to detail
* Excellent verbal communication
* Ability to perform well with and enjoy working under deadlines and pressure
* Proactive planning and communication
* Willingness to learn time estimation skills
* Flexibility and desire to learn farm systems
* Eagerness to accept feedback and turn it into action
* Energetic, fun and motivated personality
* Excellent work ethic and positive attitude
* Team player and able to work with all kinds of people
* Ability to work in ambient outdoor temperatures year-round
* Ability to lift up to 40 lbs. on a regular basis
* Tractor front-end, forklift and/or pallet jack experience
* Valid driver’s license
* Ability to commit to the farm through December 2026 (prefer through December 2027)

Compensation

• $18-20 DOE
• Access to organic produce from fields
• Optional retirement IRA with farm match
• Season end bonus, typically $1/hour worked
• $115 Gear stipend

Employees who return for multiple seasons will receive an annual performance-based raise. Third-year employees earn 1 week paid vacation; Five-year employees earn 2 weeks paid vacation. All employees can opt to take off January-February. 

Housing is not included, but we are happy to help new hires find housing by posting flyers and reaching out to our connections in the community

Equal Opportunity Policy: 

We value diversity in our workforce just as we value diversity on the land, for many of the same reasons. A range of cultural, ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds gives us the variety of experiences and perspectives that make us stronger, more resilient, and better able to cope with the many challenges that come with doing our work. Women, people of color, and individuals with
diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

To Apply:

Apply HERE on our online form (it’s pretty short and asks you to attach your resume/job history).  Qualified applicants will be contacted to set up an interview.

Application Deadline: We are currently accepting applications, and will begin reviewing them and conducing interviews in late January until all positions are filled (usually by end of March).