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Come Work For Us!

Our summer 2024 employment application will be available mid-March. Read our job descriptions below to see if we're the right place for you!

General Job Overview

Have you ever wondered where your fresh produce comes from or how the taste compares to what you find in the grocery store?  Have you been searching for a job that works around your school schedule and offers both full and part time positions?  What about if you’re too young for most jobs but want to start saving money?  Come apply to Skelly’s and join our team of fun, hard-working people! Our farm has three major seasons: strawberry season, summer season, and the fall season.  Our first round of hiring is conducted in April and May for new hires to start in early June when strawberries are ripe.  All employees rotate between cashiering in our retail barn, working in the bakery, and working out in the pick-your-own strawberry fields (see job descriptions below).  Both full and part time hours are available through strawberry season, which is typically early June through the 4th of July.  We hire 15 years and older for this time with no retail experience required. Our next season is what we call our summer season, which includes the start of our sweet corn and other homegrown produce season and our sunflower field.  Positions at the farm include cashiering in the retail barn, working in the bakery, and working at our sunflower field entrance (see job descriptions below).  These positions are only part time because the farm isn’t as busy as it is during strawberry season.  If you do not have a driver’s license or have no interest in working our roadside produce stands, then you will be working at the farm part time during this season.  All new hires from June are invited to continue through the summer as well.  If you are 16 years old with a driver’s license, full time hours are available early July through Labor Day working at our roadside produce stands (see job description below).  This position is a GREAT way to learn about our homegrown produce, practice your sales technique, and gain valuable experience operating your own area.  There are a lot of opportunities for bonuses as well! Our final season is our fall season Labor Day through Halloween, and we have another round of hiring in August for these positions.  All employees are back at the farm during this time.  Positions include cashiering in multiple different areas around the farm, working in our bakery tent outside, working in our bakery, working at our corn maze entrances, and working at our apple cannons (see job descriptions below).  Our busiest season of the year is our fall season, but all the busy days occur on the weekends.  If you’re in high school or college, this is the perfect job if you only want hours on the weekends.  There are both part time and full-time hours available during the week and on the weekends. Okay, it’s now time to get real.  We are a working farm, and our retail barn does not have any climate control.  This means that on hot days, it’s hot inside, and on cold days, it’s freezing inside.  This also means that there are days you could get muddy and wet.  Our farm and our stands don’t close on rainy days.  If you’re someone who can’t be outside for 6-9 hours at a time in the elements, then we’re not going to lie – this job probably isn’t for you.  Yes, we do provide fans to help circulate the air on hot days, and all our stands have roofs over them to protect you from the direct sun and rain, but you’re still going to be outside.  We do also require all employees to be able to stand at their position for multiple hours at a time and be able to lift up to 50lbs.  Roadside stand workers also need to be comfortable driving a pickup truck and be able to get in and out of the back of the truck carrying heavy crates of produce.  Cashiers are required to clean bathrooms, wipe up messes, and mop floors.  Bakery workers are required to do dishes and multiple rounds of cleaning.  If all of this seems like no problem at all for you, then keep on reading! Perks of the job is always a fun topic!  Each employee will receive a homegrown produce stipend each month so you can try our delicious products and take some home to your family and friends.  We offer extremely flexible scheduling (we will work around your school or other job schedules), free leftover donuts at the end of the day (WHAT!? I’m sold!), in store discounts, the opportunity for a raise throughout the summer, multiple bonus opportunities for roadside stand workers, and end of the season attendance bonuses.  Starting pay is $10 to $13/hour depending on experience. So, what’s the bottom line?  If you love working outside, want to learn about homegrown produce, want a fun seasonal job, and want to work in a retail environment, then submit that application!  We are a locally owned family business who’s been around for over 30 years and we would love to have you be a part of our history on the farm!

Summer Positions

Cashier Almost everyone ends up running one of two of our cash registers during the summer. Our registers run a basic POS system with a touch screen display that you will get hands-on training with on your first day. If you are at this position and you are not checking someone out, other job duties might include sweeping the porch, cleaning up corn mess on the front porch, cleaning bathrooms, organizing and cleaning the front counter spaces, watering flowers, emptying garbage bags, cleaning tables off on the deck and under the lean-to, restocking produce in the display cooler and on the produce table, and helping customers carry bags to their cars. Barn Floater This position is only available to employees who we specifically assign (typically someone who has worked more than one year for us). Responsibilities of this position include cashiering when needed, stocking produce, sorting produce, answering phone calls, cleaning various areas in the barn and outside, answering customer questions, and training new employees on the POS system. Pick-Your-Own Strawberry Field Attendant (June Only) We offer pick-your-own strawberries in our fields every day during the season. There can be anywhere from one to three employees running our pick-your-own fields at a time. Your main job is to get customers set up to pick strawberries. You will explain how picking is handled, hand them a flat and a carrier and guide them to good picking. Once a customer is finished picking, they will bring their flat up to you, weigh it and record their weight and final price. The customer then brings that piece of paper up to our barn to pay. This position rotates every few hours with cashiers in the barn, so you are not stuck working in the same spot all day. This does require you to sit outside all day, but we do provide shelter from the sun. Pre-Picked Strawberry Hauler/Sorter (June Only) This position involves heading out to the strawberry fields in the early morning for 2-3 hours and hauling full boxes of strawberries out of the field to be sorted. Sometimes up to 20 pickers will be in the field and when they fill a box, you will come grab it, bring it back to a truck, and sort out the bad berries. This job involves a lot of walking at a fast pace and staying alert. Typically, this position is only available to veteran employees in good physical condition. Bakery Server If you are assigned a kitchen position for the day, your main job will be working the window serving customers food from our kitchen. Working the window also includes helping to clean when necessary, such as helping with dishes, sweeping, mopping, wiping down counters, and cleaning out the display case. Other jobs can include assisting in donut making, making strawberry pies, and making strawberry jam. This job requires your hair tied back, a hat, and an apron at all times. We will provide hats and aprons, but please remember to bring a hair tie. Lead Baker This position is typically reserved for our veteran employees who have experience working in our kitchen serving and prepping food. This job involves getting the donuts made first thing in the morning, baking other items in the ovens, doing dishes, mopping, sweeping, and cleaning up counters. We expect an employee in this position to be able to direct other employees in the kitchen, assign tasks as needed, and be able to fix issues that might come up with equipment. We also expect this employee to be able to determine when it’s time start making more donuts and baking more items in the ovens. This job requires your hair tied back, a hat, and an apron at all times. We will provide the hats and aprons, but please remember to bring a hair tie. Roadside Stand Worker This position involves you being solely responsible for your roadside stand set up, sales, and tear down for the day. We run eight stands around southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois during the summer. This job requires a driver’s license. You will begin your day by checking in at the farm, getting your stand assignment and driving a pick-up truck (already loaded with summer produce) out to your assigned stand. On your first day a manager, or another employee, will be working with you in the morning to help you get set up and show you how to sell the produce. You are expected to have a presentable-looking stand (don’t have your produce all scattered randomly on the tables). Requirements for this position include being comfortable driving a pickup truck, being able to lift heavy crates of produce (around 50lbs), being able to get in and out of the back of a truck easily, being comfortable running a location by yourself, knowing how to follow directions while driving, being outside for an extended period of time (all stands do have roofs so you’re not in the sun), and being able to run a tablet with a POS system to record your sales. This position does not require prior knowledge of summer produce because we will teach you as you go. Sunflower Bungalow Attendant (Sunflower Season Only) During the 2-3-week period in late July/early August when our sunflower field is in bloom, we have the bungalow parked outside the entrance of our field taking payments for admission and handling flower bundling. We need workers to run the registers, bundle flowers for guests to take home and generally direct people where to go. If you’ve been a cashier in the barn before, expect to be working out here at least once during the season. Opening attendants oversee getting registers, other supplies and gift displays out for the day. Closing attendants oversee supply restocking, putting registers and gift displays away and bringing money back up to the barn. This position does require you to be outside for an extended period (these areas do have protection from the sun), be able to walk a long distance if needed (if we ask you to patrol the field) and be able to interact and have fun with the customers.

Fall Positions

Cashier Almost everyone will operate a cash register at some point during the fall. We have numerous locations on the weekends where you might be running one, including in the retail barn, at our pumpkin scales outside, at our bakery tent outside, and at our bungalow near the wagon ride entrance. Our registers run a basic POS system with a touch screen display that you will get hands-on training with on your first day. If you are at this position and you are not checking someone out, other job duties might include sweeping the porch, cleaning bathrooms, organizing and cleaning the front counter spaces, cleaning tables off on the deck and under the lean-to, restocking apples on the porch, assisting customers with weighing pumpkins, and emptying garbage bags. Barn Floater This position is only available to employees who we specifically assign (typically someone who has worked more than one year for us). Responsibilities of this position include cashiering when needed, restocking and bagging apples, answering phone calls, cleaning various areas in the barn and outside, answering customer questions, and training new employees on the POS system. Bakery Server If you are assigned a kitchen position for the day, your main job will be working the window serving customers food from our kitchen. Working the window also includes helping to clean when necessary, such as helping with dishes, sweeping, mopping, wiping down counters, and cleaning out the display case. Other jobs can include assisting in donut making. This job requires your hair tied back, a hat, and an apron at all times. We will provide hats and aprons, but please remember to bring a hair tie. Lead Baker This position is typically reserved for our veteran employees who have experience working in our kitchen serving and prepping food. This job involves getting the donuts made first thing in the morning, baking other items in the ovens, doing dishes, mopping, sweeping, and cleaning up counters. We expect an employee in this position to be able to direct other employees in the kitchen, assign tasks as needed, and be able to fix issues that might come up with equipment. We also expect this employee to be able to determine when it’s time start making more donuts and baking more items in the ovens. This job requires your hair tied back, a hat, and an apron at all times. We will provide the hats and aprons, but please remember to bring a hair tie. Bakery Tent Runner and Food Trailer Worker These positions are weekends-only. Every weekend our bakery serves out of a tent near the playground instead of out of the kitchen like during the week. There are several employees positioned in the tent cashiering, getting food for customers, and filling drinks for customers. This position requires a lot of walking and being outside for an extended period. All food is pre-packaged, so the runner is only required to find the food set out on tables and bring them to the customer. The food trailer worker will be inside the food trailer filling drinks such as hot chocolate, coffee, and cappuccino. Wagon Ride Driver This is a weekend-only position. We offer a one-of-a-kind wagon ride experience where the customers get to choose their own farm adventure while out on the ride. They listen to a recording of a story, and you get to drive them. They will indicate which direction they want to head based on the story. This position requires a driver’s license and is only available to over-the-top fun, outgoing people! Apple Cannon Operator This is a weekend-only position. We have four cannons that blast out apples into an open field. Customers can aim at certain targets in the field. This position involves assisting customers in shooting apples and explaining to them how to do it. You help keep all the guests safe while also holding the power to a cannon. If you are closing for the day, this position also helps with collecting garbage around the playground area and any general clean up needed. You will be outside for an extended period. Corn Maze Patrol This is a weekend-only position. We have two corn mazes on our property that need to be patrolled on the weekends. We don’t see customers as they are in the fields, and we need to make sure people are behaving while in there. Your job is to just walk around through the maze and make sure none of the above is happening. We do provide you with a map on your phone if you easily get lost. This position requires a lot of walking and being outside for an extended period. Floater This is a weekend-only position and is typically reserved for employees who have worked in a lot of positions on fall weekends. Each day, this employee is given a list for where they need to report to and what time. While they are at those different areas, they will be giving other employees breaks. This position requires a lot of walking and being outside for an extended period.

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