Crop Manager

FarmWell; Spalding; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company vehicle

Job summary

FarmWell is seeking an experienced agricultural professional to own a fresh produce crop, combining field management with forecasting, harvesting operations and people leadership.

You will report to the Farm Manager, walk crops with the leek agronomist, translate data into practical forecasts and harvesting plans, and lead two harvesting rigs to meet quality, output and safety standards while minimising waste.

Qualifications

• Experience supervising field-based agricultural, horticultural or harvesting operations.
• Experience managing sizeable seasonal teams with supervisors or team leaders.
• Good crop-monitoring skills within commercial crop production.
• Strong planning, organisational and record-keeping abilities.
• Confidence with numbers, targets and operational KPIs.
• Strong people-management and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Carry out weekly crop walks alongside agronomist and monitor crop health.
• Forecast yields, harvest readiness and field-clearance dates.
• Lead harvesting across two rigs, plan daily labour and priorities.
• Maintain high standards for crop quality, productivity and safety.
• Plan machinery movements and monitor harvesting KPIs to improve efficiency.

Skills

Field supervision

Team leadership

Crop monitoring

Planning & numeracy

Health & safety

Driving licence

Job description

Are you an experienced agricultural or horticultural professional who enjoys being out in the field, understanding how a crop is performing and turning that information into an effective harvest plan?

This is an excellent opportunity to take responsibility for an important fresh produce crop within a large, established UK farming and fresh produce business, combining hands-on crop management with forecasting, harvesting operations and people leadership.

If you are looking for a role where you can have genuine ownership, make decisions and see the impact of those decisions in the field, this could be a fantastic next step.

The Role

Reporting to the Farm Manager, you'll have two closely connected areas of responsibility: understanding the crop and delivering the harvest.

You'll regularly walk crops alongside the leek agronomist, monitoring growth, plant populations, pest and disease pressure, irrigation requirements and overall crop health.

You'll then translate that information into practical forecasts and harvesting plans, helping the wider growing team understand what will be ready, when it will be ready and what yield can be expected.

On the operational side, you'll lead harvesting through two Rig Supervisors, ensuring the teams are working safely and effectively while achieving the required standards for quality, output, cost and waste.

What will you be doing?

Crop Management & Forecasting

• Carry out weekly crop walks alongside the agronomist
• Monitor crop health, growth and development throughout the season
• Identify and report potential pest, disease and irrigation issues
• Forecast expected yields, harvest readiness and field-clearance dates

Harvesting & People Leadership

• Take responsibility for the safe and efficient operation of two harvesting rigs
• Plan daily labour requirements, workloads and harvesting priorities
• Maintain high standards around crop quality, productivity and safe working

Planning & Performance

• Plan machinery and rig movements between fields
• Monitor harvesting KPIs including output, labour efficiency, quality, downtime, waste and plan attainment
• Identify opportunities to improve harvesting efficiency and crop performance
• You’ll work closely with colleagues across Farm Operations, Growing, Agronomy, Engineering, Irrigation, Technical and Transport, making this a highly visible and varied role within the farming operation.

What Are We Looking For?

We're interested in speaking to people who understand commercial field-scale crop production and harvesting, have experience leading substantial teams, and can combine practical farming knowledge with good planning and numerical skills.

You are likely to have:

• Experience supervising field-based agricultural, horticultural or harvesting operations
• Experience managing sizeable seasonal teams, ideally through team leaders or supervisors
• Good crop-monitoring skills and an understanding of commercial crop production
• Strong planning, organisational and record-keeping skills
• Confidence working with numbers, targets and operational KPIs
• Good people-management and communication skills
• A strong understanding of Health & Safety within a farming or operational environment
• A full UK Driving Licence
• Flexibility around working patterns during peak harvesting periods

What's on offer?

• A competitive package reflecting your experience and knowledge.
• Company vehicle

Interested?

If you're currently working within fresh produce, vegetable production, arable farming, horticulture, crop management or harvesting operations and you're ready for greater ownership of both crop and team performance, we'd be very interested in speaking with you.

Likewise, if you already have leek experience and are looking for an opportunity to take the next step into broader crop responsibility, this could be an ideal move.