Farm Manager for diversified direct market farm - Against the Grain, Zionville, NC

Against the Grain is a small-scale diversified, certified Organic farm located 15 minutes from downtown Boone in Zionville, NC.  The farm is situated on 35-acres and raises a broad spectrum of Biodynamic and Organic vegetables on a little under 2 acres, as well as Animal Welfare Approved, GMO-free, grass-fed beef.  We focus on four main market channels, including a weekly farmer's market, a 20 week/115-member vegetable CSA, approx. 15 area restaurants, and two local food hubs.The 2024 season is our thirteenth year in crop production and eleventh year in animal production at our current farm place.  We are continuing to refine our crop rotation, cover crop management, harvesting and composting techniques.  Our focus at Against the Grain is to nurture the soil in order to grow high quality, nutritious food for our local community.  Our vegetables are certified Organic by One Cert, using the NOP standards and also by the Real Organic Project.  Approximately three quarters of our beds are transplanted every season, and the remaining beds are direct seeded.  We plant a diversity of crops and successions in order to have product for our year-round markets.  We have 4 field blocks, 2 heated 30x72ft high tunnels and 5 unheated 16x125ft caterpillar tunnels.  Most of our field beds are planted 2 to 3 times in a season and our tunnel beds are planted 3 to 4 times.  Our production system involves reduced tillage methods, so we use a flail mower, rotary harrow and silage tarps to prepare our beds.  We control weeds predominantly with hand tools, in addition to the use of a Farmall Super-A cultivating tractor.  We choose to build the soil by planting cover crops, spreading compost and mulching with straw.  We also add organically approved single source inputs (alfalfa meal, rock phosphate and lime).  True to Biodynamic methods, we view our farm as an organism; therefore, our focus is on building and feeding the microbial life of the soil, generating fertility on the farm and preserving sensitive ecological aspects of this land.  We apply all of the Biodynamic preparations each season, and typically make a few of the preparations on farm.In order to remain profitable as a small farm it is a must to work quickly and efficiently.   We believe that sustainability involves more than just methods of production.  Financial sustainability is essential to the success of small farms.  We are committed to keeping thorough production records and expect our crew members to participate.  We are not a homestead or hobby farm, and therefore must keep the bottom line in mind.  However, we also believe in sustainability of agricultural communities, and fully support the artistic, cultural, and social aspects of producing nourishing food. 

Overview of the farm manager's role:

• keep a birds eye view, anticipate and address issues and bottlenecks in all areas of the farm

• ensure necessary tasks are done

• keep the work flow going

• be available to answer questions through out the day

• set everyone up for success

• keep up a fun, respectful and energized work ethic for the whole team
• provide constant feedback, encourage people and guide them in the right direction when needed

Human resources support:

• -keep crew calendar updated, including chore rotation, time off and community events
• -edit/adjust time cards as needed when crew forgets to clock in and out
• -keep a pulse on crew morale and alert Andy and Holly when social issues arise and need to be addressed -manage work-flow to mitigate friction between crew members or to accommodate people's individual needs

Training and Management:

• -fill out weekend chore checklist and train the weekend chore person 
• -coordinate spraying schedule and train crew who spray hot season crops weekly May-Aug.
• -train people when necessary in all areas of the farm (harvesting, production, livestock, equipment, irrigation, heating systems)
• -decide which crew member gets paired with which tasks ensuring that projects have the appropriate number of people to complete the task efficiently and before end of day
• -quickly move people to the next project to avoid wasted time

Pack Shed/Harvest assistant:

• keep an eye on weather/crew size/large harvest days in order to meet all harvest deadlines
• step in as Packshed manager when packshed lead is out or on vacation
• on Tuesdays dismiss people for lunch so that the CSA packline begins on time and ends on time
• coordinate with Andy for market harvest and help fill out pack sheet
• fill out harvest estimate sheet on Thursdays for market channels the following week
• communicate with Holly and Andy for CSA, Food Hub, Tractor listings and alert of any unforeseen changes (ie: larger or smaller harvests than expected, or mistakes on estimate)
• train crew members for efficient and high quality harvesting
• pair crew members to harvest tasks that they are competent with

Record Keeping:

• -update field maps weekly
• -clear planting boards and keep ds log and transplant log up to date
• -email variety trials email with observations regarding crops
• -facilitate wrap up meeting at end of each day and ensure all necessary data has been recorded
• -keep a keen eye out for easy to miss data points such as onions, garlic, potatoes, etc.

Production Manager:

• -keep production white board up to date with priorities and tasks
• -make edits to production list for whole team communication 
• -manage workflow keeping in mind priority of tasks, weather, best order of operations
• -pair appropriate crew members with production tasks
• -decide what beds to flip and what to plant where and when
• - ensure that all amendments and compost are applied properly and that beds are in good condition for planting
• - execute all the direct seeding (in collaboration with Andy)
• - ensure all beds have drip line, misters and sprinklers, row cover as needed
• - ensure all new beds are watered to germinate and establish plants
• - advocate for weeding and put competent teams on weeding projects, especially hitting the first weeding within three weeks of planting/seeding
• -advocate and spearhead thinning when necessary
• -assist with trellising and pruning
• -keep a close eye on planting calendar to plan ahead and stay ahead on bed flipping and planting

Work Schedule and compensation:

-Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:30pm

-rotating Sunday chores with other crew members

-management team meeting 1x per week from 4:30-5:30pm

-hourly wage based on experience and references, starting at $17/hr

-payroll run every 2 weeks

-tiny house or camper available as part of in-kind compensation

-meat and vegetables from the farm as part of in-kind compensation

-8 hours of sick leave accrual for every 173 hours worked

-40 hours paid vacation during the peak season and another 40 hours during the off season

To apply, send a resume and 3 professional references to Holly at atgfarm@gmail.com.