Livestock Manager in Wingdale, NY

ABOUT

Harlem Valley Homestead is a diversified vegetable, flower and livestock farm on 250 acres in Wingdale, NY. Our mission is to deepen our connections to place, to each other, and to ourselves, through hands-on learning and experience in rural and agrarian living. This season we will raise approximately 40 beef cattle and 200 layer chickens on 50 acres of pasture, 30 pigs in our woods, and 1.5 acres of vegetables grown with organic practices (not certified). In the future, we intend to build accommodations to host overnight guests with on-site dining, events and workshops on the farm.

In addition to 50 acres of pasture, the rest of our property consists of ponds, woods and wetlands, and is nestled between the Ten Mile River, Ten Mile Hill and Gardner Hill. We are five minutes from Metro North (Harlem Valley Wingdale), with lots of fishing, swimming and hiking in the area. More information about our farming practices and future plans can be found on our website www.harlemvalleyhomestead.com.

JOB SUMMARY

We are looking for an experienced livestock farmer to join our operation! We are in the early stages of our operations and are looking for someone who wants to grow with us over the next several years.

The Livestock Manager is responsible for daily care of all livestock, including feed, water, fencing and otherwise maintaining healthy and humane conditions. They will also manage all livestock acquisition, harvest, breeding, and health maintenance including but not limited to:

• Beef cattle
• Pigs
• Layer chickens
• Future livestock enterprises such as small ruminants and guardian animals

This position will directly manage any farm crew working with livestock, and have significant administrative responsibilities such as maintaining records and inventories, and supporting other areas of our organization as needed such as sales, finance, infrastructure planning, compliance, etc. This role is also responsible for the development of any new livestock enterprises on the farm and for creating and executing a phased plan for establishing livestock enterprises on the farm now in anticipation of future operations.

The Livestock Manager will support all other farm operations as determined by the farm manager including but not limited to:

• Crop production
• Land management and maintenance
• Events and other public programming when applicable as determined by the farm manager.
• Equipment and infrastructure maintenance and repair

Responsibilities:

Specific roles/responsibilities will include the following, which in some cases involve training and delegation to other employees:

• Daily chores
• Maintaining herd/flock health, including preventative care
• Maintaining equipment and infrastructure such as fencing, farm equipment, implements, etc.
• Developing and executing rotational grazing/haying/pasture management plans
• Animal procurement and harvest
• Developing and executing breeding plans for cattle
• Administration, management and educationMaintain records for livestock health, acquisition and harvest, as well as pasture management

Build and maintain budgets and work plans for livestock enterprises
Create and maintain inventory of all livestock feed and supplies
Support farm team management including managing schedules and time off requests, approving hours, and providing feedback to farm crew
Create training programs and SOPs to manage staff around animal husbandry, animal products and other areas of operation as needed

• Sales, through retail and direct wholesale channelsCreate and maintain meat and egg inventories

Provide customer service and education around farm products
Provide strategic and operational support for meat retail strategy, display, and education
Support sales channels as needed, including farmers market and farm stand, and keep sales software/platforms up to date
Align sales strategy and implementation with animal harvest and processing

• Support hiring/recruitment as needed

Experience and competencies

• 2+ years experience with livestock production, ideally in a management capacity
• Experience executing intensive rotational grazing
• Experience with cattle breeding, health and emergencies, as well as basic health needs of layer chickens and pigs
• Organized self starter with excellent observation skills, and the ability to self manage and problem solve independently
• Confidence and ability to manage and/or educate others, especially farm crew about livestock operations and products
• Good team player that can work well with co-workers, leadership and customers
• Experience with or ability to quickly learn relevant computer skills including G-Suite, POS systems and other softwares as needed
• Experience with equipment or infrastructure maintenance and repair is a plus

Training and other requirements:

• Required Trainings: Legally required trainings, farm safety and SOPS, farmers market and other trainings as required by HVH policies
• Physical Demands: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to travel independently within the office, around the farm and off site. Ability to move throughout the office, as well as attend off-site appointments, ability to consistently and safely lift 50 pounds, and on occasion 75 lbs.
• Safety: In addition to safety training, the employee must obey all safety policies and wear proper PPE as needed or specified in safety policies.
• Harlem Valley Homestead has a mandatory vaccination policy for Covid-19 compliant with applicable state and federal law.
• Authorized to work in the US

Compensation & Benefits:

• $50-55k+ starting annual salary commensurate with experience
• Fully paid health insurance
• Self insurance available for vision & dental
• PTO – 17.33 hours accrued per month
• FSA and EAP
• 401k Plan – Currently non-matching
• Staff Discount in farm store
• Access to house shelf when available

TO APPLY

Please briefly introduce yourself in 300 words or less:

• Introduce yourself! What are you passionate about? What are your long-term farming goals?
• Provide a brief description of your farming and management experience, and why you are a good fit for HVH and this position?
• Describe your ideal working environment. What motivates you to work quickly and efficiently? How do you motivate others to do the same?
• Are you willing and able to work weekends?

Please provide an overview of your relevant experience (resume or other document)

Please provide three professional references who could speak to your learning and working style.

At Harlem Valley Homestead we believe it is the collective sum of our individual differences that make us stronger as a whole. Harlem Valley Homestead is committed to creating a diverse workforce and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to cultivating a culture of inclusion and connectedness to each other and to the land. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, culture & ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status, and all other protected classes.

We publicly affirm our ongoing commitment to becoming an anti-racist organization and that our anti-racism commitment be reflected in the life and culture of our policies, programs and hiring practices as we continue to learn about bias and racism.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $50,000.00 – $55,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Employee discount
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 5×8
• 8 hour shift
• Weekend availability

COVID-19 considerations:
Harlem Valley Homestead has a mandatory vaccination policy for Covid-19 compliant with applicable state and federal law. Applicants may be entitled to an exemption from this policy in accordance with said laws

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Wingdale, NY 12594: Reliably commute or planning to relocate before starting work (Required)

Experience:

• Farming: 2 years (Preferred)

Work Location: One location