Farm Manager
Full TimeJob Description
****APPLY VIA THESE INSTRUCTIONS. An indeed application alone does not qualify as an application*** *
*To Apply: *
Please fill out this form and include your resume and cover letter. If you have questions before applying, you can reach out to our current Farm Manager Jacob Morenberg, jacob@mevo.org, and our Executive Director, Violet Reed, violet@mevo.org.
*MEVO Farm Manager*
*www.mevo.org*
*Job purpose *
The role of the Farm Manager at MEVO is to ensure a successful farm season by managing the farm well to ensure a revenue stream that supports MEVO’s work and by providing experiential education through volunteer events, internship programs, and workshops that connect people to the earth and each other. The farm manager embodies our mission on the farms by inspiring change in the way we relate to the food system and, by extension, the environment.
*Responsibilities*
● Adhering to a low-till, market garden growing system
● Creating a Crop Plan for each farm (Fresh Roots Farm and Lottie’s Farm)
● Creating weekly/daily worklists & schedules based on long-term and short-term goals
● Ordering/buying seeds, materials, and tools
● Developing and implementing a fertility program to enhance soil health
● Managing our compost system
● Overseeing nursery management including seeding, watering, and up-potting
● Directing field management including planting, crop maintenance, and maintaining the integrity of our raised bed systems
● Washing, packing, and curing/storing crops for market/CSA/restaurants
● Winterizing fields and infrastructure (tarping/cover cropping)
● Ensuring the collection and recording of all field data such as harvest data and crop plan performance
● Maintaining existing infrastructure including greenhouses, tables, fences, refrigerator, irrigation, etc.
● Building new infrastructure when needed such as hoophouses, fences, and tool storage
● Implementing “Lean Principles”: keeping all areas on the farm neat and orderly
● Operating, transporting, and getting repair MEVO machinery including pick-up truck, trailer, and skid steer
● Being willing to take a proactive approach to securing and developing new growing spaces
● Working with the Executive Director and Farm Manager to help design and implement field blocks, greenhouses, hoop houses, and any infrastructure that is needed at a new farm
● Managing the CSA:
○ Conceptualizing CSA offerings and structure
○ Managing and ordering any add on items we offer (grains, mushrooms, eggs, ferments, etc)
○ Communicating with CSA members, including creating a weekly CSA Harvest Sheet
○ Overseeing harvest, washing, and packing of shares 1-2 days per week
○ Running CSA stand and training others to do so
● Managing Ramsey Farmers’ Market stand:
○ Registering for market participation and communicating with the market manager regarding market attendance
○ Ensuring the stand has all needed supplies (signs, tents, tablecloths,etc) and that they are in good shape
○ Leading the weekly market harvest day and creating a weekly harvest list that reflects the trends and demands of the market
○ Ensuring that the market stand is organized and aesthetically pleasing
○ Keeping track of earnings and payment methods including using Square mobile payment device
● Managing Wholesale Accounts
○ Communicating availability and pricing to customers
○ Arranging sale, pick up and delivery of produce
○ Sending invoices and recording payments through Square
○ Developing new sales outlets if supply consistently outweighs demand
● Creating a cohesive, supportive, and professional work environment for staff, interns and volunteers
● Sharing responsibility for the Spring, Summer, and Fall College Interns with the Farm Manager Assistant and Executive Director. _We work with around 15-20 interns yearly._
○ Co-planning internship content & structure
○ Interviewing prospective Farm Crew interns and conducting mid-internship & exit interviews
○ Managing and training interns to accomplish daily tasks consistent with schedule and quality of work expected
○ Structuring & guiding daily/weekly intern reflection circles
● Managing Paid Farm Staff
○ Leading by example to establish an efficient, punctual, and friendly work culture
○ Leading paid farm staff in the accomplishment of the daily worklist with ease and efficiency by:
■ Empowering paid staff to take ownership of the farm and worklist
■ Delegating tasks clearly to paid staff
○ Letting the Executive Director know about issues with staff including poor work performance, chronic absenteeism or lateness, or conflict with other staff
● Managing Volunteer Events (1-2 times per week)
○ Leading or delegating the management of volunteer events, ensuring staff have a comprehensive understanding of the work for the day
○ Creating a work list and schedule for volunteer events based on the number of volunteers
○ Ensuring volunteers get a quality experience through a farm tour for new volunteers, friendly interactions, and sending them home with veggies when possible
*Job Requirements*
● Bachelor’s Degree
● Ability to work physically hard
● Impeccable time management
● Two seasons of farming experience
● Intermediate knowledge of food & cooking
● Prior experience in a management role
● Reading and viewing the following materials before or at the start of the position (MEVO will provide)
○ The Market Gardener Masterclass
○ The Lean Farm
*Compensation*
● $22-25 per hour, ranging from $45,760-$52,000 depending on experience
*PTO, Sick Time, and Benefits *
● 401(K) after 3 months of employment with a match of up to 3.5% (match can be taken with the employee after three years of employment)
● Health Insurance stipend for $250 per month
● 1 hour of sick for every 30 hours worked
● PTO: 10 days and holidays (Thanksgiving weekend, from Christmas Eve-New Years Day and 4th of July)
*About MEVO: *
MEVO (the Mahwah Environmental Volunteers Organization, Inc.) is a youth-led environmental nonprofit dedicated to creating scalable ecological solutions that inspires and empowers people to take action for a better future. Since our founding in 2008, we have mobilized more than *12,000 volunteers*, providing over *70,000 hours* of hands-on environmental service throughout Northern New Jersey and lower New York. A core focus of our work is our long-standing efforts on Stag Hill in Mahwah, home of the Ramapough Lenape Nation, where we have removed, with volunteers more than *850,000 pounds of illegally dumped trash *over 200+ cleanups. We also build, maintain, and repair local trails in partnership with the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference to provide ecological access and recreation for the community. Currently, our central program is the Fresh Roots Farming, which showcases organically based vegetable production in multiple gardens and farms while offering internships, volunteer days, and community programming. Through all of these programs, it is our intention to get our community’s boots on the ground and hands in the direct effort to effect change through combating environmental apathy.
*About our Fresh Roots Farming Program:*
MEVO has been growing and building, managing, and curating community farms and gardens with the help of volunteers since 2011. We started gardening in milkcrates, creating wheelchair accessible gardens and from 2015-2020 built two organically tended market garden farms. We believe that teaching about environmentally friendly farming practices and getting people boots on the ground and hands in the dirt is the easiest way to give our community a touchstone to environmental issues and how they can help ameliorate them. Everyone needs to eat. By showing people the harms but then the benefits of farming when done without chemical inputs and with the care of the soil, the surrounding ecology, the water cycle, and the workers in mind we can exact positive environmental change. MEVO currently tends one 2 acres market garden, the Fresh Roots farm and is moving into a new 8 acre plot, Lottie’s Farm, with a 100ft greenhouse, after the loss of Lovewell Farm to development, a 1.5 acres plot, at the end of 2025. The Fresh Roots Farming Program covers a broad range of farm based programs from a CSA and Farmers’ Market Stand, internships, volunteer events, and workshops.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $45,760.00 – $52,000.00 per year
Benefits:
* 401(k)
* Dental insurance
* Health insurance
* Paid time off
* Professional development assistance
Work Location: In person
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*Job was aggregated from Indeed.com*
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