Duncan Family Farms, LLC in Stanley, New York is offering 3 full-time H-2A seasonal positions for Agricultural Equipment Operators — running from April 28 to November 22, 2026. This hands-on, physically demanding agricultural role covers driving and controlling farm equipment and performing manual labour across a diverse crop portfolio including asparagus, hops, sweet corn, cucurbits, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, Romanesco, parsley, and herbs. USDA GAP certification training is provided. Minimum 2 months of verifiable agricultural experience required. Applications via duncanfamilyfarms.net or by emailing recruitment@duncanfamilyfarms.net.
About Duncan Family Farms, LLC — Stanley, New York
Operation: Duncan Family Farms, LLC — a multi-crop vegetable and specialty agricultural farm in Stanley, New York State
Crop Diversity: Asparagus, hops, sweet corn, cucurbits, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, Romanesco, parsley, herbs, and additional specialty crops
Standards: USDA Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certified operation — committed to food safety, worker training, and compliant agricultural production
Programme: H-2A Temporary Agricultural Worker Program — seasonal positions offered through the US Department of Labor’s legal seasonal agricultural worker programme
Contact HR: Linda Kennedy — recruitment@duncanfamilyfarms.net | Website: duncanfamilyfarms.net
Crops & Commodities — 2026 Season
Asparagus: Planting, cultivation, harvesting — spring crop requiring physical precision
Hops: Rhizome propagation, planting, bine training, pole maintenance, string tying, and mechanical harvesting support
Sweet Corn: Planting, cultivation, harvesting, field packing, and grading
Brassicas: Cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and Romanesco — transplanting, cultivation, harvesting
Cucurbits & Herbs: Cucumbers, squash, parsley, and mixed herb production — tying, pruning, picking
Position Overview
These 3 full-time H-2A Seasonal Agricultural Equipment Operator positions at Duncan Family Farms, LLC in Stanley, New York cover the full spectrum of New York State agricultural field operations from late April through late November 2026. Workers will drive and control farm equipment to support planting, cultivating, and harvesting across a diverse multi-crop operation, as well as performing extensive manual field labour — including transplanting, weeding, tying, staking, trellising, pruning, harvesting, grading, packing, irrigation management, and hop-specific tasks including bine training, rhizome preparation, pole maintenance, and mechanical harvest support. This is genuinely hard, strenuous labour under cold and wet spring conditions and extreme summer heat and humidity — requiring physical fitness, commitment, and the professionalism to maintain USDA GAP standards at all times across all field and equipment operations. USDA GAP certification training is provided by the employer.
Why This Role Matters: As Agricultural Equipment Operator at Duncan Family Farms in Stanley, New York — across the H-2A seasonal programme for the full 2026 growing season from April through November — you will contribute your agricultural labour skills and equipment operation capability to a diverse, multi-crop farm that produces fresh market and processing vegetables and specialty crops for New York’s food system, gain hands-on experience across a genuinely broad range of US agricultural operations — from spring asparagus through summer vegetable crops to autumn hop harvesting — that builds a comprehensive and marketable agricultural worker skill set, work within a legally structured H-2A programme that provides clear employment terms, worker protections, and a seasonal income, and contribute to USDA GAP-certified food production that meets the highest food safety standards in American commercial agriculture.
Key Responsibilities
Farm Equipment Operation & Tillage
- Drive and control agricultural equipment to support a wide range of field operations — including soil tilling, bed preparation, cultivation, planting, and harvest support activities across the full crop portfolio managed by Duncan Family Farms throughout the 2026 growing season
- Operate planters to plant roots, seeds, and bulbs across multiple crop types — ensuring planting accuracy, correct row spacing, and appropriate seeding depth in accordance with farm-specific planting specifications for each crop variety
- Spread plastic mulch and other ground coverings as directed — and manually clean and remove plastic covering from the ground at season end, ensuring that field surfaces are left in good condition for subsequent land preparation and re-use
- Till soil and prepare fields for planting across the growing season — operating soil preparation equipment to achieve the appropriate seedbed conditions for each crop, following farm SOPs for field preparation and maintaining safe and accurate equipment operation at all times
Planting, Cultivation & Crop Care
- Plant, cultivate, and care for a diverse range of fresh-market and processing vegetable crops — including asparagus, sweet corn, cucurbits, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, Romanesco, parsley, and herbs — using both mechanised equipment and hand tools including shovels, hoes, and knives throughout the growing season
- Transplant seedlings by hand with care and precision — placing plants correctly in prepared beds, maintaining proper spacing, and ensuring roots are correctly positioned to support healthy establishment without plant damage
- Stake and tie plants, install trellising systems, set poles and wires for vine crops — performing the support structure installation and maintenance activities that protect crop growth, improve light interception, and facilitate clean harvesting across applicable crop types
- Weed and thin plants — removing competing vegetation manually and with appropriate hand tools, thinning over-planted areas to achieve correct stand density, and maintaining the clean cultivation conditions that support crop quality and yield performance throughout the growing season
Hop Operations — Specialised Tasks
- Propagate and plant hops — cutting rhizomes and storing correctly in cold storage until planting time, filling containers with appropriate potting soil, planting rhizome pieces in pots, and placing planted pots in the greenhouse for establishment before field transplanting
- Sort and untangle hop plants with care — separating hop bines by hand without damaging the vines, preparing plants for organised field transplanting according to the farm’s hop variety and block planting plan
- Manually train hop bines onto strings with the special care required to avoid bine damage — ensuring correct clockwise wrapping direction around hop strings, maintaining the bine orientation that enables healthy climbing and maximises cone yield across the hop yard
- Maintain hop yard infrastructure — removing and replacing damaged or missing poles, ensuring all hop poles are vertically straight and correctly tamped, fixing loose or missing strings, managing drip tubing placement to protect against vine damage, and performing all yard maintenance activities required to support a productive, well-maintained hop yard through to harvest
- Support mechanical hop harvest operations — picking up fallen bines and hop clusters from behind the combine and loading them into the truck, managing bale cloth placement, cutting bale cloth with a heated knife, baling and sewing hop bales, stencilling bales, cleaning the baler floor, and mixing and pitching hops for processing
Harvesting, Grading, Packing & Post-Harvest
- Pick, cut, lift, and pull crops to harvest them efficiently and with appropriate care — selecting produce at the correct maturity stage, handling harvested product gently to minimise bruising and damage, and maintaining a work pace that meets farm productivity expectations while preserving produce quality
- Tie vegetables in bunches, top and trim crops as required, and grade and size harvested produce according to fresh market and processing quality specifications — ensuring that only correctly graded product enters the packing and field packing workflow
- Field pack harvested products where required — assembling and filling field packing containers to specification, ensuring accurate count or weight per unit, labelling containers correctly, and placing packed units on pallets or trucks for transport to storage or processing facilities
- Apply pesticides, fertilizer, and crop protectants as directed and in compliance with applicable label requirements and farm safety protocols — following all relevant personal protective equipment requirements and safe application practices to protect both worker health and crop integrity
Irrigation, Infrastructure & Farm Maintenance
- Place, move, and install irrigation pipes and fittings — connecting and disconnecting irrigation equipment across fields as the seasonal irrigation schedule requires, ensuring correct pipe installation and watertight fittings that deliver uniform water distribution to each crop block
- Install and maintain irrigation systems and water lines — supporting the farm’s irrigation infrastructure across the season, including drip line maintenance, sprinkler system setup and removal, and the installation and removal of levee gates for irrigation management
- Dig and maintain field ditches — performing the excavation and maintenance of drainage and irrigation ditches that manage field water across the growing season, using appropriate hand and powered tools as directed by the farm supervisor
- Assist with farm building and field maintenance and repairs — supporting general farm maintenance activities as assigned by management, including fencing, building upkeep, equipment cleaning, and any other maintenance tasks required to maintain the farm’s operational readiness throughout the growing season
Requirements & Physical Demands
Experience Requirements
- Minimum 2 months of verifiable agricultural experience — preferably on a vegetable farm — is required for these positions; applicants must be able to provide references or documentation that confirms prior agricultural field work experience
- Familiarity with common agricultural hand tools including shovels, hoes, and harvest knives — and comfort operating in and around agricultural machinery in a safe and aware manner
- USDA GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) certification training will be provided by the employer — all hired workers must complete GAP training and must comply with USDA GAP standards throughout their employment; failure to do so is grounds for dismissal
Physical Requirements
- Ability to lift and carry up to 60 lbs (approximately 27 kg) regularly throughout the working day — an essential physical requirement for this role given the demands of harvesting, field packing, and hop baling activities
- Ability to perform repetitive physical movements continuously throughout the workday — including extensive pushing and pulling, prolonged walking on uneven field terrain, frequent stooping and kneeling, and the sustained physical effort required by harvest and cultivation activities
- Willingness and ability to work in extreme environmental conditions — cold and wet spring conditions during asparagus and early vegetable planting, and extreme heat and humidity during the peak summer growing and harvest season in New York State
- Willingness to submit to random post-hire drug testing at no cost to the employee — as required by farm policy for all H-2A seasonal agricultural workers employed by Duncan Family Farms, LLC
How to Apply — Duncan Family Farms, LLC
Apply Online: www.duncanfamilyfarms.net
Email your application to: recruitment@duncanfamilyfarms.net
Contact: Linda Kennedy — HR Recruiter
Full terms and conditions (ETA790a form): seasonaljobs.dol.gov
H-2A Assistance: H2A@labor.ny.gov — include applicant name and job order number
About Duncan Family Farms & H-2A Agricultural Work in New York State
Duncan Family Farms, LLC is a multi-crop vegetable and specialty agricultural operation in Stanley, New York — producing a diverse range of fresh-market and processing crops including asparagus, hops, sweet corn, brassicas, cucurbits, and herbs across the New York State growing season. The farm operates under USDA Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification — ensuring that every aspect of its production meets the highest food safety standards applicable to commercial fresh-market and processing vegetable production.
The H-2A Temporary Agricultural Worker Program provides a legal, structured pathway for employers to hire seasonal foreign agricultural workers when there are not enough domestic workers available to meet the demands of the US agricultural harvest. H-2A positions offer legally protected employment terms, worker rights, and the opportunity for agricultural workers to gain valuable US farming experience across a full growing season at a professionally managed, USDA-certified farm operation in New York State.
Career Excellence: Join Duncan Family Farms as an Agricultural Equipment Operator in Stanley, New York for the 2026 growing season — where your agricultural field experience, physical capability, and commitment to USDA GAP food safety standards will contribute to the production of New York’s fresh vegetables and specialty crops and provide you with a full season of professionally structured, legally compliant H-2A agricultural employment in one of America’s most productive and diverse horticultural farming states.
Who Should Apply?
- Experienced Agricultural Field Workers: With a minimum of 2 months of verifiable vegetable farm experience — physically fit, able to lift 60 lbs, and comfortable working in challenging outdoor conditions across a full New York State growing season
- H-2A Seasonal Agricultural Programme Applicants: Seeking legal, structured seasonal employment in the United States — aspiring to work on a USDA GAP certified New York vegetable and hop farm under the H-2A temporary agricultural worker programme for the full April–November 2026 season
- Vegetable Farm Equipment Operators: With experience driving and operating farm equipment for tillage, planting, and cultivation — ready to apply that equipment operation capability alongside manual field labour across a diverse multi-crop production operation
- Hop Farm Experienced Workers: With previous experience in hop yard operations — including bine training, trellis management, or mechanical hop harvest support — bringing specialised knowledge that is directly applicable to Duncan Family Farms’ hop production programme
- Physically Fit Agricultural Generalists: With a genuine work ethic, demonstrated ability to perform hard strenuous agricultural labour across a full growing season, and the commitment to USDA GAP food safety standards that Duncan Family Farms’ certification requires from every member of its seasonal workforce
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