ABOUT THE LAND
Our farm is a 70 acre farm of mixed pasture, hay, vegetables and berries. The market garden plot is .25 acres currently and can be expanded to 1 acre as needed. There is additional opportunity for more land to be used in veg and berry production as needed. We have barns, sheds etc onsite that house our equipment, sheep, and our poultry. We do not have a greenhouse currently but a hoop house or two is something we have in mind to put us as part of the future plan.
There is road access to the garden, access to equipment such as tractor, BCS and hand tools. The cell service on SSI is minimal and spotty but we have reasonably good signal on site. We have a large pond we use for irrigation and a basic system. The soil on the land as a whole is clay and clay loam but the soil in the garden has had compost and other amendments added annually for the past 15 + years so it is very good quality topsoil at this point in time. The land overall is quite wet in winter and in spring which we have found to be a benefit in the hot dry summers where the garden retains moisture well in spite of the heat and drought.
ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY
Looking for a young person or persons who are ready for the next step in their farming career. Ideally you have apprenticed in market gardening for a number of years and have most recently been a successful farm manager. You are now ready to take the next step in running your own market gardening business.
You have experience with planning, managing, and directing a successful market gardening business. You know how to work well with people and how to build harmony and peaceful rhythms into your days. You take pride in keeping careful records and in thoughtful planning of successive crops. You are at ease with reliable and easy to use tracking software or other record keeping methods.
We are a family farm committed to organics looking to find the right person to take on this part of our farm business to run it. We are open to a number of business arrangement possibilities over a number of years. We will start with a one year contract renewable. We are looking for someone to run this business with our sponsorship and a number of agreed upon infrastructure, inputs, tools, and support from us.
The first year would be a profit sharing venture. You will benefit directly from your hard work and success. It is our intention that the right individual would move into a longer term business arrangement with planned expansions over time into an expanded garden, specialty crops or other related ventures.
The ideal person will be creative with a can-do attitude and a professional demeanor. They will be highly motivated to learn and grow with the land and to build a profitable organic vegetable and food production business. The right individual is able to clearly communicate and to cooperate with others in a way that can move projects forward and overcomes obstacles. Honesty, integrity, creativity, flexibility, inventiveness and a sense of humour would be ideal.
Working with partners means listening and understanding and seeking out the common goal and working toward it in a way that can contemplate multiple strategy’s and potential outcomes before moving forward together with the best solution for that place and time. Having had experience and practice doing that would be an asset.
This is a business opportunity not a job or salaried position. Rental accommodation is available on site for a fee. Living onsite is not required. Additionally, there is space available for living here in your own RV or tiny home, if preferred.
Note: We are currently undergoing the process of organic certification on the land and you will be a part of managing this process with your careful attention to record keeping and your knowledge of organic regulations. The garden has been farmed organically for over 15 years.
For more info, view the Young Agrarians UMAP Land Listing for this opportunity.
GET IN TOUCH
If you are interested to find out more please contact Julia directly at: julia_mckinley@hotmail.com or call 250-653-2400. Please include information about yourself and your farming experience.
