where do i post for helpers for my farm?

CentralPaFarm · #1 10/27/12, 06:00 AM

Here is my site

Central Pa Mountain wilderness farm :: Communities Directory

Hip and open minded means i have no indoor plumbing yet

Yes mom and me use a chamber pot and compost our poo in summer and burn it in the winter

meanwhile · #2 10/29/12, 07:48 AM

Try your local Ag center or Slow Food sites. Around here people post ads at the Ag centers, Town Halls, local newspapers, Churches, the Slow Food groups, any CSA groups, at market garden centers, Farmers Markets.

There is also a site called "woofer" or something like that for longer term help. I am not sure of the exact name.

It is hard to find good helpers. Good luck to you.

AverageJo · #3 10/29/12, 08:09 AM

World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms = wwoof
WWOOF around the world

Abstract · #4 10/29/12, 08:19 AM

You can also try Craigslist for your town, under Gigs -> Labor
craigslist: pennsylvania - classifieds for jobs, apartments, personals, for sale, services, community, and events

Lack of indoor pumping is no problem at all, just make it clear on the ad.

Warwalk · #5 10/29/12, 09:46 AM

If you were down south you could just stop by certain gas stations or any big box hardware store... You'd have folks literally trying to jump into your car! Pay em' ten bucks an hour and get them lunch and they'll work all day with a smile!

rambler · #6 10/29/12, 10:10 AM

Look at your ad, and ask yourself, what are you offering the person that comes to your house?

I assume, but you really didn't say, that they get to live in the house free????

You never mentioned any income for the person coming there - what are they to live on? What do they eat, what will they wear?

What benifits are you offering, health care, income, retirement savings?

It kinda sounds like you are inviting a person to come along, commit to stay with you for an extended time, and will at the most get some garden greens to eat while they have to pee in the woods, but won't get anything for themselves, won't be able to do anything but help yuo build up your property and make you grow.....

That may _not_ be what you mean at all!!! But - it is how your ad _sounds_.

Perhaps you want to look at this from the other person's shoes, and try to offer the person coming something for them to gain?

You will likely attract a better type of person if your ad offers something of value to them. No, I don't mean stock options or free land, I realize this is not a big buck operation....

Just looks like you are advertising for free labor for you to gain a better homestead for yourself, and you forget to offer anything at all of value to a prospective person?

Your offer sounds like a communal living experience, and those are met with a lot of negativity around here. I also don't see any value to such arrangements, as it would seem counter to human natuure, but that is beside the point - it does work for a few select groups for a time. Just saying, you will get a lot of negative comments here.

Also, a lot of folks here are rednecks, whether they admit it or not. I'm supposedly way to far north, but I relate to rednecks far more than any other group. So - again you are kinda gonna get some gruff on that.

Back to your question: I'm sorry I don't have an answer of _where_ to advertise.

I'd suggest you put together a better explination of what you offer to the employee you are searching for. If you are searching for a partner, again what is being offered to them, what do you bring to the table, what will they need to bring? Who supplies dollars, who supplies labor, and who gets the benefits?

--->Paul

beaglady · #7 10/29/12, 11:53 AM

If you don't already belong to PASA, it's a good organization, and could offer connections to hire farm apprentices. PASA Lots of members in your general area.

meanwhile · #8 10/29/12, 12:05 PM

Read a lot of the WWOOF ads and that will give you an idea of how to present the best parts of the arrangement you offer. Good luck.

Hint: Your description of "no indoor plumbing yet" would be better received if described as "Composting toilets".

Warwalk · #9 10/29/12, 12:41 PM

EESH!!! I had thought initially you were looking merely for some day labor, until saw the ad posting. To me, it's highly verbose, and a person really has to dig deep into the ad to glean what your intent is. I concur with Rambler ~ you are requesting alot without really putting forth too much. How many hours will the person work, and under what conditions? What happens if they are injured? What economic gain will they have from helping you to pursue your dream? You mentioned platonic: What happens if they have a boyfriend / girlfriend that comes and visits daily on your little piece of Shangri-la? Is that okay? What's to prevent them from being kicked out, if there's no rent involved, apart from your own whims or wishes? Do you have a lease agreement written up? What is the going rate for a room in a house without indoor plumbing in that area? $200? $300? $500? Express the number of hours you require them to work per week, and then project this figure out over the course of a month. Then, divide by the number of hours worked. What are they making? Even if they only are working 20 hours a week, that's 80 hours a month. What are those 80 hours worth to the person? My advice: Cut the size of the ad in half. Rework it. Reword it. Explicitly explain the persons' expected responsibilities, their protections, and their rewards.

CocalicoSprings · #10 10/29/12, 02:36 PM

Are you really sure you want to take on the burden of having "hired help" or resorting to having unskilled low paid or free (woofers) working on your farm. Think it over.
Trust me.. It ain't worth it. Even if they happen to have enthusiasm and good work habits, they tend to break things..and that costs money. Also, you may end up with unexpected lawsuits or tax problems.
Unless you plan to get really really big as a producer, don't think a few young workers are going to bust their butts for you for low wages while you get the marketing end in order.

mpwithem · #11 10/29/12, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CocalicoSprings

Are you really sure you want to take on the burden of having "hired help" or resorting to having unskilled low paid or free (woofers) working on your farm. Think it over.
Trust me.. It ain't worth it. Even if they happen to have enthusiasm and good work habits, they tend to break things..and that costs money. Also, you may end up with unexpected lawsuits or tax problems.
Unless you plan to get really really big as a producer, don't think a few young workers are going to bust their butts for you for low wages while you get the marketing end in order.

The interesting thing is that all skilled workers were once unskilled. This is something that bothers me in any field. How are people supposed to become skilled if they have nobody that is willing to teach them or train them.

Warwalk · #12 10/29/12, 04:42 PM

it's an interesting point that you make Mpwithem. Nonetheless, if it's an education that is being offered, the offering party should spell out their credentials / what they will teach / how they will teach / when and to what extent they will teach... so that the potential accepting party will know, going in, what they should or should not expect. I, for one, would have no desire whatsoever to go and live with a dude and their grandmother in semi-colonial conditions, even if no work was involved. If work were expected of me, I'd expect to be paid. That's not even "modern day lazy BS", that's just common sense.

Warwalk · #13 10/29/12, 04:44 PM

@CentralPa - it would be beneficial if you responded so we could get a better feel for how to help?

mpwithem · #14 10/29/12, 04:58 PM

Warwalk - I agree that I wouldn't be up for this kind of job especially since "modern day" conveniences are not being offered. I don't really know what the OP is offering in full however my response was to the person that had posted before me talking about "unskilled workers" and how they're not worth anybody's time esp. since they break things.

I think my post was more in frustration because there are so many things that require some sort of learning effort on my part and patience on the other person's part. Some people are extremely trainable but they are not given the chance because they don't have the basic skills in the first place or experience. This has become a rant and I apologize for hijacking this thread if I have done so :-)

Warwalk · #15 10/30/12, 12:02 AM

@mpwithem, no, you weren't ranting. I agreed with what you were saying. I think the guy running the ad means well, I just think they need to hone their message. They're very excited at what they're trying to accomplish, but without some clear rules up front there could very quickly be some bad feelings. I hope it works out for the guy though.

CentralPaFarm · #16 11/02/12, 05:38 PM

I meant here at this site. I thought if someone could get past the chamberpot thing then we might have a discussion (privately) about the rest of living here.

It seems no one here is asking about being a helper on a farm like mine. That means there is no reason to get into further discourse with everyone here unless you were pointing me to the right board here to post an ad.

I do want to thank those who did point me to places to place an ad. thanks.

To those seeking to know my business for the sake of discussion or whatever, i'll just say no thanks.

rockhound · #17 11/02/12, 06:37 PM

It sounds like you have bitten off more than you can chew, as they say. You would like someone to come and help you out of generosity. The easy way to fix your situation is to cut back to what you are able to get done on your own, and that will be the natural size for your farm. Remember all the time you spend supervising is time you are not working.

CentralPaFarm · #18 11/04/12, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockhound

It sounds like you have bitten off more than you can chew, as they say. You would like someone to come and help you out of generosity. The easy way to fix your situation is to cut back to what you are able to get done on your own, and that will be the natural size for your farm. Remember all the time you spend supervising is time you are not working.

You may be right in a way. I do though tend to be the one who does all the work even when i have had people here. They would basically just watch and maybe hand me something.

I guess for me its working alone that bothers me the most.

Pony · #19 11/04/12, 07:10 AM

Your original post wondered where to get help. It was pointed out to you that your ad needs some work, and there are, indeed, some suggestions for where to look for help.

It seems you are frustrated, but the suggestions are really very good. No one is trying to get into your business or be nosy. You asked for help, folks are trying to help.

rambler · #20 11/04/12, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CentralPaFarm

You may be right in a way. I do though tend to be the one who does all the work even when i have had people here. They would basically just watch and maybe hand me something.

I guess for me its working alone that bothers me the most.

I can understand that.

Any business transaction needs to benifit both sides to be successful. You're looking for a little help & some version of friendship/ pass the time.

What does the other person get? Most folks here already have their property, they won't pull up to sit on your property. A lot of folk with nothing holding them down tend to be a little scary, as in not being very well grounded to have around....

You'll need to look carefully, and the more you can find ways to offer something to the other person, the more positive things you can offer to this person, the better quality of person you can attract.

In your search, be looking for what you can offer the person; not so much in what you need.

Will be interesting in how much better your search goes.

--->Paul