Three Oaks Farm is seeking a manager for an established 2 acre certified organic farm on the Saanich Peninsula, Vancouver Island.
About Three Oaks Farm
Three Oaks Farm has been in operation at this location since 2006. We have approx 1/2 an acre in 4 unheated greenhouses and approx 1.5 acres in field crops. We grow 30-40 different crops and emphasize succession planting to have a steady supply of short term items. Salad greens, tomatoes, strawberries, leeks, peppers, carrots are some of our bigger crops.
We do a lot of tomato plant sales (and other starts) in Spring for a commercial outlet as well as our own farm stand. We use a tractor and spader for the bulk of our cultivating, and a rototiller for bed prep and path management. Irrigation is through a mix of drip lines and overhead watering. We market all our produce through Saanich Organics via our CSA, restaurants and grocers, and 2 Farmers Markets.
The owner is a partner in Saanich Organics and will stay involved on this level, therefore much of the sales will be off the farm manager’s plate and they can stay focused on production. We are usually a core group of four at the farm, including one other employee, one or two apprentices and volunteers that come and go. Our team at Three Oaks Farm and Saanich Organics is a hard working, progressive, communicative, fun loving, inclusive, and community oriented group and we welcome more of the same 🙂
Learn more about Saanich Organics here!
About the Position
The owner at Three Oaks Farm has been farming for 20+ years and would now like to take a back seat. This is a great opportunity for an experienced farmer to step up to management without the difficulties of establishing a new farm.
The successful candidate must continue to run the farm as certified organic and work with our established marketing business, Saanich Organics. The farm owner will assist with planning, shopping for supplies, mentoring apprentices, some labour, and weekend watering.
Qualifications
The successful applicant must:
- have at least 2 to 3 years experience in diversified organic vegetable production
- have experience supervising others
- have experience operating farm machinery (rototiller, mower, tractor)
- be committed to certified organic principles
- have a working knowledge of seeding dates
- be an organized, efficient, and tidy worker
- be an excellent communicator
- be able to work under pressure while maintaining supportive and communicative atmosphere with co-manager, apprentices, and other staff
- be able to see the whole picture while being extremely detail oriented
- have a drivers licence
Job Duties
The Farm Manager will be responsible for:
- Management of day to day operations of seeding, potting up, transplanting, weeding, irrigation, prepping beds, harvesting, washing and packing produce for sale
- Management of apprentices and occasional volunteers
- Management of drip irrigation system and overall supervision of irrigation
- Estimating harvest offerings twice/week
- Record keeping re seeding dates, fertilizer application, manure management
- Working cooperatively with other 2 farmers of Saanich Organics when it comes to marketing
- Ordering of seeds and soil amendments as needed (sea soil, manure, etc)
- Maintaining long term farm fertility and attentiveness to the big picture for the farm
- Working with established systems but innovating where necessary!
Job Details
Pay is $13/hr for 40 hrs/week plus unlimited access to produce. Hours are Mon-Fri 9-5. At this time there is no accommodation available at the farm.
To Apply
Please send a cover letter and resume to: rachel@saanichorganics.com