Blue Wheelbarrow Farm in Prince Edward County, ON is seeking a Field Manager for the 2020 season!
About Blue Wheelbarrow Farm
Blue Wheelbarrow Farm is excited to be starting its fifth season in beautiful Prince Edward County, Ontario. Located just outside Bloomfield in the heart of “The County”, we are dedicated to producing fresh, organically grown vegetables of the highest quality and taste, with a strong focus on promoting local agriculture and local food autonomy. The farm is a 17 acre property with 3 acres cultivated for vegetable growing. We specialize in baby greens and salad mixes (over 5,600 lbs sold in 2019) but grow a variety of other vegetables such as tomatoes, radishes, carrots, and zucchini. We sell our produce to over 25 different chefs in the County, at local farmers’ markets, and at our farm stand on site. Cultivating community, celebrating the harvest, and feeding people fully is the foundation of the farm and business.
Desired Qualities
We are looking for an individual who has a strong work ethic, a positive attitude, an entrepreneurial drive, and a dedication towards furthering their career and education in small-scale organic farming. Our ideal candidate is someone with an organized mind that can balance many responsibilities at the same time, is self-motivated, hardworking, and values the importance of community and collaboration.
Qualifications
- Minimum 2-3 years’ experience on commercial organic vegetable farms
- Management experience with staff and/or volunteers
- Experience growing for farms which focused on restaurant and market sales
- Experience assisting or managing harvest days
• Valid G driver’s license - Ability to operate (or learn to operate) our BCS Rototiller, quick greens cutter, and paperpot transplanter
- Ability to train and motivate novice staff/interns/volunteers
Requirements and Skills
- Strong organizational skills such as multi-tasking, prioritizing, planning, effective time management, and hitting production targets
- Ability to assess the needs of the day/week/month/season and has the flexibility to tweak plans and methods as needed
- Excellent observation skills for transplant readiness, harvest timing, product quantity and quality, etc.
- Excellent verbal communication skills and has the courage and confidence to ask questions when tasks are unclear or end results are uncertain
- Ability to manage and motivate a field crew of 3-5 individuals while cultivating and nurturing a strong working relationship, being a positive role model for the crew, and developing a team mentality
- Ability to give and receive feedback in a productive and thoughtful manner
- Chooses discomfort over resentment (e.g. consciously deciding to acknowledge and face challenging and uncomfortable situations with openness, honesty, and respect rather allowing resentment to fester by ignoring them)
- Values the importance of a workplace where everyone’s well-being is taken seriously, from physical fitness and endurance to the importance of managing your own personal health and emotional self-care
Responsibilities
- Will work alongside Aaron to lead the day-to-day operational management of field work and farm crew
- Create a weekly work flow/schedule of field work and how that work will be delegated
- Participate in and provide training to interns/volunteers for:
- Harvesting (picking, washing, sorting, processing, packaging, quality control)
- Weed control (hoeing, hand pulling) and maintenance of cultivated acreage
- Seeding and germination
- Direct seeding with our Jang seeder, transplanting with our paper pot transplanter, transplanting by hand
- Watering and irrigation
- Trellising & pruning
- Bed prep with the BCS rototiller, raking, fertilizing
- Train field crew about safety, efficiency, quality, and providing ongoing feedback throughout the season
- Constant monitoring and keeping detailed records at all stages of production to observe any immediate/future problems and create solutions
- Act as a pace-setter for staff for field work and maintaining a balance of timeliness and quality of tasks and product
- Maintain a high level of quality control and food safety standards
- Critically evaluate the achievements and misses, and seek ways to improve on tasks
- Follow the 2020 crop plan including rotations, planting map, greenhouse seeding, and seed inventory
- Ensure farm spaces and equipment are left in a clean and organized manner at the end of each workday
Job Details
Term: April 20 – Oct 30, 2020
Hours: Field Manager position requires roughly 50 hours per week at peak season, 30-40 in early spring/late autumn. Our work days at peak season run from 7am to 5pm, with a coffee break at 10am and an hour lunch break around 12:30-1:00. We encourage you adopt the time-honoured European tradition of a siesta during the latter half of lunch break. Certain tasks (like transplanting) are expected to be followed through to their completion, even if this goes later than the scheduled work day. We are usually harvesting something every day but on our big harvest/delivery days (Tuesdays & Fridays) we go until the harvest, processing, packing, and cleanup have been completed. Farm work will be done in all types of weather. After work, especially hot days, we might somehow find ourselves down at the beach for a re-energizing swim.
Wage: $16/hour, with potential for wage increases during the season based on performance.
To Apply
Please send a cover letter and resume with references by email to Aaron Armstrong at bluewheelbarrowfarm@gmail.com.
There is no deadline for this position. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled. Selected candidates will be contacted to schedule either an in person or video conferencing interview. Thank you to all who show interest in the positions.
When applying, please mention you saw this job posting at youngagrarians.org
Learn More About Blue Wheelbarrow Farm
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