Jobs: Part Time Seasonal Farm Manager & Assistant, Michigan

Posted on March 8, 2011 by in Beginning Farmers, Employment, Farming, Finding Land, Local Food // 0 Comments

SEEDS is seeking a Farm Manager and an Assistant Farm Manager for 2011 growing season. The SEEDS Farmer Residency program offers farmers early in their career the opportunity to work on an historic property to produce food for the community with more autonomy than an internship, yet within the context of an established nonprofit and the support of an experienced network of mentors and farmers in the region. The farm, located at the Historic Barns Park within the Grand Traverse Commons, is the historical farm site that produced the majority of the food for the patients at the Old State Mental Hospital. Today it is property owned by a joint municipal Recreational Authority and adjacent to 400 acres of wooded park and one of the largest historic redevelopments in North America complete with a wood fired bakery, fair trade coffee roaster, two wineries, an award winning restaurant and a growing walkable community.

SEEDS has management responsibility for 5 acres of farmable land. Last growing season, we established a one acre area for growing, complete with fencing and irrigation. Of this, a half acre was planted with a mixture of vegetables and cover crops.

This year the goal is to expand cultivation to the full acre and begin planting perennials such as asparagus, berries, fruit and nuts. We also hope to have a hoop house by June.

The Particulars:

● With the fulfillment of 300 hours of work, SEEDS can offer a $1132.28 Americorps education award good toward tuition and loan expenses.

● A successful farmer can earn a portion of the proceeds from the sale of farm produce.

● SEEDS will provide weekly crews of high school student labor as a part of our Youth Conservation Corps program.

● Additional paid work opportunities working with our Youth Conservation Corps improving trails and removing invasive species on parklands, including an opportunity to build a boardwalk on South Manitou Island through the largest old growth cedars in the State!

Send Resume and Cover Letter To:

jobs @ecoseeds .org -or-

SEEDS – attn Barns

PO Box 2454

Traverse City, MI 49685