Senior Grower at My Little Farm, full-time

Organic Growers Alliance; Leeds; On-site; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking organization as a Lead Vegetable Farmer, where you will manage and innovate vegetable production on a beautiful farm. This role offers the chance to work closely with a dedicated team, overseeing everything from crop planning to harvesting, while also nurturing a community of volunteers. Your passion for regenerative farming and extensive knowledge of market gardening will be key as you take responsibility for production operations. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to sustainable agriculture and make a real difference in the community. If you are dynamic, self-motivated, and ready to lead, this role is perfect for you.

Qualifications

• Extensive knowledge of vegetable farming in a market garden style.
• Experience with farming machinery and market gardening tools.

Responsibilities

• Manage all aspects of vegetable production from crop planning to harvesting.
• Oversee seed propagation and general crop maintenance.

Skills

Passion for regenerative farming

Knowledge of vegetable farming

Organisational skills

People management skills

Problem-solving skills

Flexibility with working hours

Communication skills

Ability to conduct physical work

Education

Experience in market gardening

Knowledge of chemical-free practices

Tools

Farming machinery

Market gardening tools

Job description

We are looking for a senior grower to join our team as the Lead Vegetable Farmer. This is a unique opportunity to be part of building this exciting project from the start. You will be managing our vegetable production and working with our team on our beautiful farm in Streat, in the South Downs. You will be responsible for all aspects of our vegetable production operation, from crop planning to harvesting.

Key responsibilities include:

1. Being responsible for all aspects of our vegetable production operation, from crop selection / crop planning, to cultivation, to harvesting
2. Overseeing seed propagation operations in our greenhouses
3. Bed preparation (weeding, topping with compost / manure, making natural preparations and amendments)
4. General crop and bed maintenance (weeding, netting, covering, watering, pest management)
5. Harvesting vegetables
6. Packing boxes
7. Produce management (managing excess produce, liaising with food products team)
8. Managing the compost
9. Occasionally helping with farm infrastructure building (eg. polytunnels, beds, greenhouses)
10. Occasionally contributing to the animals or non-vegetable farming such as tree planting
11. Creating crop plans (including rotation plans for our gardens to ensure year-round vegetable production)
12. Planning growing calendars with scheduled sowing, planting, harvesting times
13. Creating rotas and delegating work however needed / in your absence
14. Being responsible for the work of the Assistant Grower(s)
15. Managing online farmshop
16. Buying supplies needed and placing orders (seed trays, seed compost, tools, equipment, seeds)
17. Keeping a farm log
18. Occasionally contributing to the farm update newsletter
19. Manage annual budgets for vegetable growing production
20. Building the community, interacting with members and facilitating volunteering work
21. Managing team of volunteers

Requirements:

1. Passion for regenerative farming
2. Extensive knowledge of vegetable farming in a market garden style (no dig, Richard Perkins and Jean Martin Fortier style)
3. Experience working on a market garden type farm
4. Willing to improve farming processes and experiment with new techniques
5. Organisational and communication skills to ensure effective planning
6. People management skills to manage a small team of staff and/or volunteers
7. Dynamic, self-motivated and looking to take responsibility
8. Natural ability for problem solving
9. Flexibility with working hours, out of regular hours may be required
10. Experienced with or willing to learn how to use farming machinery including tractors, rotator and hand-held machinery
11. Capable of conducting physical work such as digging, carrying crates of vegetables
12. Open-minded, flexible, adaptable to changes and willing to learn
13. Aligned with My Little Farm's values and mission
14. Natural ability with use of online platforms

Desired experience:

1. Sound knowledge and practical experience of growing chemical-free regenerative vegetables from seed
2. Experience working with volunteers of different ages such as families with children
3. Experience of growing in polytunnels and throughout the seasons
4. Experience with using market gardening tools (direct seeder, broadfork etc)

Role: organic / regenerative veg senior grower
Hours: 40 hours per week
Pay: £15 per hour, with possibility to increase as the business progresses
Start date: As soon as possible / before end of March 2024 the latest
Address: BN6 8RU