7 Springs Farm
About the Farm
We have a ranch position available for a working couple on our 700 acre family farm & homestead in South Central Missouri. We are a very diversified operation with 40 horses, 100+ beef cattle, family dairy cows, hogs, sheep, goats, chickens, and a large garden. We run several businesses on the farm including boarding retired horses, selling grassfed/pastured meat, operating a bulk feed business, and running a sustainable lumber business. Our personal residence is also off-grid. We live in a very, very beautiful place. Being able to live on a 700 acre farm is an opportunity few people get. There is really something special about this lifestyle. Being close to nature, self-reliance, being surrounded by beautiful open space, independence, and community are all things we enjoy and value on a daily basis. We are looking for someone who will appreciate these things as much as we do.
About the Position
The perfect candidate would be a couple, where both want to participate in our homestead operations.
This opportunity is perfect for someone who wants their main responsibility to be caring for horses (for instance, a vet tech), but also wants to be involved in sustainable farming, raising a variety of animals, growing your own food, and maybe would like be part of a homestead community. The ideal candidate must be horse savvy, eager to learn, love being outdoors, doesn’t mind hard work, is able to get up early, asks questions when you’re not sure, and works well alone and with others. For a couple, most likely one person would be more animal/farm oriented, and the other would be in charge of the garden, although the garden person would have plenty of time to also be around the animals.
One of the many things you will be doing is caring for retired horses. This entails managing older horses and their needs such as arthritis or past injuries, weight issues/feed requirements, administering medications, or just providing additional care. This requires horse knowledge as well as good organizational skills.
On our farm, you will also care for cattle, hogs, sheep, goats & chickens. Daily chores will include feeding, watering & checking on the well-being of the animals (with the guidance of the owners if you don’t have experience in this area.) Our goal is for you to become knowledgeable and efficient at taking care of the farm animals so you can be confident and do it yourself.
Other farm related tasks you will assist with during the day include fencing, caring for the pastures, practicing rotational grazing for the livestock, putting up hay, gardening, occasionally helping with the lumber business, help organize buildings, etc.
We have a large family garden and orchard that everyone on the farm can get produce from. Helping with planting, watering, weeding, harvesting & processing/canning the produce is another set of tasks you will participate in and learn how to do. We process and can meat from the farm along with produce from the garden. If you are a couple that is applying, the person who has gardening experience, or is most interested in the garden will be trained to be the main garden caretaker. Most days during the gardening season there will be just an hour or two of work. But there will also be longer days when we are setting up an area, taking care of weeds that got away from us, etc. The winter time is the balance to the longer summer days because the garden doesn’t need much of our time in the winter. The gardener must be able to tolerate the heat in the summer because that is when the garden needs the most of our time.
We have a family milk cow, so you will get lots of fresh milk. Milking the cow is another task we will teach you and have you do or help with most days. We have egg laying hens and there will be eggs to share when they are producing enough. We also raise most of our own meat. Beef, chicken, pork & lamb could be available depending on the situation.
Housing & utilities are provided. There is no WiFi. We have a 1 bedroom 1 bath barn apartment with a small kitchen. We stay busy most of the week with breaks for lunch and other random breaks depending on the weather. Sundays are the slow day, where we just do chores and that’s it. We farm by the seasons. So in the summer, we have long days, get up early, take a break in the heat of the day if we need to, and sometimes work late. Spring and fall are fairly normal. Winter is the balance to summer with short days, and finishing work early when it gets dark. Farming is completely different from an 8-5 job!
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Required
- This is a position for an experienced equine professional, with skills similar to a horse vet tech. Certification is not required, skills and knowledge are!
- Previous farm, animal handling & gardening experience is strongly preferred.
- Capable of operating equipment including pickups, pulling trailers, and driving tractors is preferred but not required.
- Able to safely perform ranch-related duties including 10-12hr days (sometimes) in hot/cold outdoor conditions.
- Not scared around large livestock.
- With over 300 animals on the farm, we NEED a detail oriented person. Someone who has the ability to notice if an animal looks off, sick, injured, etc. We can teach you what to look for, but you MUST be an observant person by nature.
- Must have a strong work ethic and ability to work independently and with others.
- Must have good organizational skills, including organizing rooms & keeping records.
- We are looking for someone who is pleasant to work with. If you are grouchy and moody all the time, please don’t apply.
- Must have the ability to listen to and follow directions without me having to hold your hand all day. We have no problem showing you how to do something and working with you while you learn but don’t want to babysit, so listening and self-motivation are a must!
- Must be able to get up early in the morning on your own. We don’t want to have to call you every morning to get you out of bed.
- Must be able to safely exert a considerable amount of physical effort to stoop, crouch, and lift 50 pounds or more.
- Valid Drivers License with clean driving record
- No drugs, obviously! No obsessive drinking is permitted.
Things to Consider
We are a very kind, straight forward, pleasant Christian family. By you coming here you are an extension of our family and it is important that everyone gets along and there is good communication. We have 4 young kids and we want to make sure there is a good example set for them. We are not interested in high-drama individuals. They are just not a good fit here!
We are looking for someone who loves to learn & who has a dream of caring for horses/farming/ranching/homesteading one day or partnering with us. We have had people start as interns and now are homesteading with us and have created an income from the farm!
We are looking for a long term horse care/farm couple to join our team. We ask that any applicant be prepared to commit to stay here for at least 1 year after a 30-60 day trial. We hope and expect you to stick to your 1 year commitment after the 30-60 day trial. That being said, we do ask for a 6 week notice if you plan on leaving at any time after your trial is over, or if you know that you won’t be staying at the end of your trial as much notice as possible would be very helpful. This will give us time to find a qualified person and have you help train them before you leave.
The exact salary amount will be decided depending on the individual/couple and their skill set.
HOW TO APPLY:
Please send your resume with references and a picture of your drivers license to 7 Springs Farm at our email address.
Please include a phone number. We conduct several phone interviews, possibly a video interview, and an in-person interview for candidates.
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