Farm Manager

The Boreal Farm; Duluth, Northern (MN, KY); Hybrid; USD 50,000 - 54,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Life insurance

Gear stipend

Winter outerwear

Job summary

The Boreal Farm, located just outside Duluth, Minnesota, is seeking an experienced production lead to grow diversified vegetables in a short-season climate. You will plan, execute, and optimize field, high tunnel, and irrigation systems while coordinating seasonal staff.

This full-time, year-round role requires hands-on production experience, strong planning skills, and the ability to align harvest and inventory with customer commitments.

Qualifications

• This role requires recent, hands-on commercial production experience.
• 3+ seasons managing or co-managing diversified vegetable production in USDA Zones 3–5
• Crop planning and execution across 20+ varieties in a short-season environment
• Experience aligning crop planning, harvest, and inventory decisions with customer commitments, sales channels, and farm revenue goals
• High tunnel crop production and management
• Irrigation system setup, maintenance, and troubleshooting
• Pest, disease, and weed management in a production setting
• Safe operation of tractors, implements, and common farm equipment
• Post-harvest management, including harvest timing, wash/pack protocols, food safety, and quality standards
• Experience coordinating and training seasonal staff or other production help when needed
• Strong communication, organization, and production decision-making skills

Responsibilities

• Seed starting, transplant production, and transplant timing
• Annual crop planning, rotation strategy, revenue streams, and succession scheduling across a diversified organic system
• Field production, soil management, and organic pest and disease decision-making
• High tunnel production, system refinement, and future expansion
• Irrigation system management and infrastructure development
• Solar-powered root cellar management, including food safety and storage protocols, solar system monitoring, harvest-to-storage workflows, crop quality, and stored inventory to extend the sales season to strengthen farm revenue
• Harvest workflows, wash/pack systems, yield tracking, and post-harvest quality
• Equipment operation and maintenance, including tractors, implements, and irrigation infrastructure
• Coordination and training of seasonal staff when additional production help is brought on
• Organic recordkeeping, production forecasting, and crop budgeting

Skills

Crop planning

Irrigation systems

Pest management

Communication

Job description

Grow great food in the North. Lead production. Strengthen systems. Help shape the future of The Boreal Farm.

About The Boreal Farm

The Boreal Farm grows Certified Organic vegetables, flowers, herbs, and native plants in the heart of the Boreal forest, just outside Duluth, Minnesota.

Growing food in the North demands creativity, resilience, and a willingness to work with the season instead of against it. That's the work we love.

We're building a farm that values thoughtful systems, continual improvement, and collaboration. From production systems to season extension, we're creating an operation designed to thrive in a short-season climate while strengthening the long-term health of the business.

This role is for someone who...

• already knows how to grow diversified vegetables commercially


• understands production agriculture in USDA Zones 3–5


• has managed crops to meet revenue goals through an entire growing season


• enjoys solving problems and improving systems


• wants to be part of the team building the next chapter of an established farm

Location:Northeastern Minnesota, just outside Duluth
Employment Type:Full-time, salaried, year-round
Salary:$50,000–$54,000 annually, commensurate with experience
Start Date:Early Spring 2027
Application Priority Deadline:January 2027

Benefits include:

• 26 days of paid time off, including the farm’s Christmas through New Year’s winter break


• Life insurance


• Annual gear stipend, plus provided Boreal outerwear for Northern seasons

As The Boreal Farm grows, compensation will evolve with the scope and responsibility of the role.

What You’ll Help Lead

• Seed starting, transplant production, and transplant timing


• Annual crop planning, rotation strategy, revenue streams, and succession scheduling across a diversified organic system


• Field production, soil management, and organic pest and disease decision-making


• High tunnel production, system refinement, and future expansion


• Irrigation system management and infrastructure development


• Solar-powered root cellar management, including food safety and storage protocols, solar system monitoring, harvest-to-storage workflows, crop quality, and stored inventory to extend the sales season to strengthen farm revenue


• Harvest workflows, wash/pack systems, yield tracking, and post-harvest quality


• Equipment operation and maintenance, including tractors, implements, and irrigation infrastructure


• Coordination and training of seasonal staff when additional production help is brought on


• Organic recordkeeping, production forecasting, and crop budgeting

You’ll work closely with the Founder to strengthen production, improve systems, and help guide where the farm goes next. We value ideas, experimentation, and honest conversation about what is and isn’t working, along with the shared laugh when farming inevitably has other plans.

Required Experience

This role requires recent, hands-on commercial production experience. It is not designed as an entry point into vegetable farming.

• 3+ seasons managing or co-managing diversified vegetable production in USDA Zones 3–5


• Crop planning and execution across 20+ varieties in a short-season environment


• Experience aligning crop planning, harvest, and inventory decisions with customer commitments, sales channels, and farm revenue goals


• High tunnel crop production and management


• Irrigation system setup, maintenance, and troubleshooting


• Pest, disease, and weed management in a production setting


• Safe operation of tractors, implements, and common farm equipment


• Post-harvest management, including harvest timing, wash/pack protocols, food safety, and quality standards


• Experience coordinating and training seasonal staff or other production help when needed


• Strong communication, organization, and production decision-making skills

Valued but Not Required

• Experience with certified organic production practices


• Organic certification recordkeeping and compliance


• Experience with soil temperature monitoring and GDD-based planting decisions


• Crop budgeting, yield tracking, or production forecasting


• Small-scale solar or alternative energy systems


• Root cellar, cold storage, or other season-extension storage systems


• Experience connecting storage and production planning with extended-season sales

Qualifications

• Ability to lift and carry 50 lbs regularly


• Valid driver’s license and eligibility for coverage under the farm’s vehicle insurance policy


• Ability to work safely and effectively outdoors in Northern weather conditions year-round

Final candidates will be asked to provide two professional references and may be subject to a standard background check.