Farm Manager Job in St. Louis

Farm Manager Job in St. Louis (2012) Farm Manager needed for the Community Farm, a project of the Community Action Agency of St. Louis County. The Community Action Agency of St. Louis County, Inc. (CAASTLC) is a not-for-profit corporation that is committed to helping families and communities of St. Louis County prevent the conditions of poverty for present and future generations. CAASTLC has provided services in St. Louis County for over 30 years, and we continue to strive to generate healthy families thriving in their community free from poverty and social exclusion. The Community Farm is a project designed to help increase low-incomes famillies' access to healthful foods, while also demonstrating the viability of a tiered CSA marketing system that connects low-income consumers with local food producers. Located in Spanish Lake, a food desert in the north county of St. Louis, Missouri, the Community Farm is an urban vegetable farm. Located at the site of a church and the Helping Hands Food Pantry, access and education are key missions of the farm. The farm offers nutrition and food preparation classes for its CSA shareholders and local community members, as well as works with a nearby juvenile detention facility, the Missouri Hills Youth Center, to offer a 8 month Food, Farm, and Environment course for their teens. The Community Farm is also an incubator/training farm for Small Plot INtensive farming (SPIN Farming). Through paid apprenticeships, the farm trains low-income people in intensive vegetable production and farm business management. For the Farm Manager position, CAASTLC seeks a self-motivated, entrepreneurial Farm Manager to take charge of the overall planning, implementation, organization, and management of the ½ acre SPIN farming enterprise. The individual must be “hands-on” and proficient in critical tasks involved with setting up a new small plot intensive vegetable farm.

Tweet

*Specific Roles and Responsibilities:*

*Farm Planning / Development*

· Participate in the overall short-term and long-term planning and development of Community Farm operations.

· Implement seasonal strategies for crop rotation, integrated pest management, soil amendment, cover cropping, tillage, propagation, transplanting, cultivation, harvesting, etc.

· Set goals and milestones, both short term and long-term, and develop record-keeping systems to monitor progress.

· Ensure that all farm practices comply with federal, state, and local government regulations (including the management of employees, activities, etc)

· Ensure that all practices protect the agricultural environment along with the farm’s natural resources and biodiversity.

· Establish, monitor, and meet quality control standards established for the farm.

 

*Budgeting / Financial Management *

· Develop an annual farming budget in conjunction with CAASTLC’s Program Administrator.

· Monitor farm progress against annual budget and provide monthly progress reports of revenues and expenses for CAASTLC and grant-reporting needs.

 

*Farm Facilities / Equipment Management*

· Provide day-to-day management of all farm facilities and equipment, including maintenance, repair, and replacement.

· Procure necessary equipment, tools, and supplies for on-farm operations within approved budget.

 

*Staffing / Supervision *

· Recruit, orient, train, motivate, supervise, and evaluate paid and volunteer workers.

· Work with CAASTLC administrators and accountant to assure that all labor regulations and payroll requirements are met.

· Apply and maintain all health and safety standards.

 

*Recordkeeping / Reporting / Communications *

· Monitor and document all land use, irrigation, and produce yield/losses and report to the CAASTLC project manager.

· Maintain production records, and create and maintain records for crops, soil amendments, and field history.

· Manage CSA to ensure all delivery scheduling is kept current, consistent, and in CAASTLC Farm’s goals.

· Serve as principle farm representative; participate in CSA sales; interact with general public, subscribers, media, and project directors.

· Create and maintain the CAASTLC Farm website and blog.

· Create and update marketing materials such as the farm brochure, CSA newsletter, etc.

 

*Education*

· Work with Lincoln University Extension to schedule monthly on-farm nutrition education classes, and advertise events with CSA and Food Pantry clients.

· Create organized training program for farm apprentices/volunteers.

· Work with the Missouri Hlls Youth Center to create curriculum and teach the Food, Farm and Environment class for their students.

 

*Qualifications *

· Post-secondary degree (Associate’s; Bachelor’s preferred) in an appropriate discipline (e.g. plant science, horticulture, botany, agronomy, plant pathology, organic farming, greenhouse mgmt, etc.), and/or a minimum of 2 years demonstrated experience managing an intensive, sustainable, vegetable farm with a significant CSA enrollment and other direct marketing activities.

· Demonstrated supervisory experience of staff, volunteers, and interns and successful experience in recruiting, hiring, and motivating workers.

· Demonstrated experience in budgeting and financial management.

· Demonstrated experience in operating and maintaining and variety of farm equipment appropriate for vegetable production.

· Effective written, verbal, and electronic communication skills.

· Competence in using computer technology as a management tool (e.g. Excel, Word, Power Point, Access Internet, etc.).

· Strong leadership, teamwork, and interpersonal skills with proven ability to work with diverse audiences and collaborators.

· The ability to envision a positive future for low-income families & initiate actions to bring about change.

 

*TO APPLY:* To apply for this position send a resume and cover-letter to CAASTLC’s Human Resources Director.
Kathi Lucas-Johnson Human Resources/Farm Project
2709 Woodson Rd.
Overland, MO 63114

Please no phone calls.