Cheese Making Assistant Job

Posted on April 23, 2021 by Taylor in Dairy, Employment, Sustainable Agriculture // 0 Comments

Cheese Making Assistant Job at Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery in Champagne-Urbana, Illinois – 2021

CHEESE MAKING ASSISTANT JOB SUMMARY

Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery is located in Champagne-Urbana, Illinois.

They commit to being transparent, accountable, and sustainable. Their core principles of sustainability include environmental stewardship, economic viability and social responsibility. They strive to educate the community about sustainable agriculture and the connections between food production, health, and enjoyment. They also hope to serve as a model for others interested in small-scale diversified farming systems.

In August of 2005, they were licensed as a Grade A goat dairy and farmstead creamery. Since then, they have expanded their herd to over 100 milkers. They now manage close to 80 acres of perennial crops, from pasture to prairie to silvopasture.

The cheese making assistant is a support role in the creamery. He/she will participate in most aspects of cheese making, with an emphasis on cleaning . He/she will become proficient at transferring milk from the bulk tanks to pasteurizer-vats, performing all associated cleaning, pasteurizing and making fresh chevre, assisting with other styles of cheese makes, packaging cheese, organizing cheeses for wholesale and retail sales and shipping cheese. He/she will be responsible for routine daily, weekly and monthly creamery cleaning and facility maintenance. This is a full time entry level position with opportunities for advancement

QUALIFICATIONS

Detail oriented
Conscientious
Excellent personal hygiene
Enjoyment of cleaning and other repetitive tasks
Pride in a job well done
Ability to perform more than one task simultaneously (multi-tasking)
Ability to work efficiently and perform tasks (once mastered) in timely manner
Ability to work alone and in a small team setting
Honesty
Willingness to learn, especially the technical aspects of cheese making
Ability to be on your feet for 8-10 hours/day
Ability to lift 50 pounds

DUTIES

Washing molds, racks, mats and other utensils and vessels used in cheese making
Milk transfer from bulk tanks to cheese vats
Running CIP (clean in place system for pipe cleaning)
Pasteurization
Cheese ladling, flipping
Cheese packing (e.g. fresh chevre, cottage cheese)
Bloomy rind cheese flipping, wrapping
Performing daily, weekly and monthly facility cleaning
Learning and maintaining basic food safety protocols (cleaning and managing product inventory to ensure freshness and purity)
Packing cheeses for wholesale and retail sales
Assisting with cheese shipping (both wholesale and retail orders)
Attending and participating in staff meetings (dairy and creamery staff)

Expectations for this position are:

Clear and timely communication
Bringing concerns to attention of farm owners as they arise
Punctual arrival based on seasonal hour requirements
Maintaining immaculate personal and facility hygienic conditions
Positive and professional attitude with staff and farm owners

CONTRIBUTING TO THE FARM’S SUCCESS

This role is essential to transforming our farm’s goat milk into high quality artisan/farmstead goat cheeses and other dairy products. This role is essential for keeping our creamery clean and food safe.

RELATIONSHIPS

This position reports to and is supervised by the Main Cheese Maker and the Farm Owners (Wes Jarrell and Leslie Cooperband) and Head Cheese Maker (Leslie Cooperband) and works with other support staff in the creamery.

HOURS and COMPENSATION

The position is full time year-round (40-50 hours/week March-December; may be 30 -35hours/week in winter months-January through February). Salary: $15/hour (lunch breaks included)

BENEFITS

Medical Insurance: As a benefit to our full-time employees, we offer health insurance with the cost split equally (50% employee-50% employer) after a probationary period of 30 days. The employee’s health insurance contribution will be deducted from his/her bi-monthly paycheck. The employee can select plan from available group plan options during open enrollment in May.

If the farm meets or exceeds it’s annual profitability goals, there is potential opportunity for an end of year bonus. There are also opportunities for salary increases determined in January based on employee performance and overall PFFC profitability.

Other benefits:

Employee discount on farm products (15% of retail price)
Opportunity to participate in other farm activities as time permits, including goat milking, kid care, on-farm event staffing.