Assistant Farm Manager Job in Maine at Cultivating Community

Job Available at Cultivating Community in Maine: Assistant Farm Manager, 2013

The organization Cultivating Community, based in Portland, Maine and active in greater Portland and Lewiston, is committed to growing sustainable communities in three ways: by feeding our hungry, empowering our families, and healing our planet. We are a community food project. In our urban and suburban agriculture, we grow produce that feeds hungry people. We also run farm stands, farmers markets, and food distribution programs (including low/no-cost CSA projects) focused on creating access for all to healthy food. We use that community food work as a platform for youth and community development. Our youth grow and distribute food, learn about sustainable agriculture and food systems, and work together to solve problems and strengthen their own communities. We have independent teen programs as well as partnerships with schools. We are also a farmer training project. We connect Maine’s newest Americans—primarily immigrants from East Africa and Central America—with the land, skills, and resources needed to start farm-based enterprises. In connection with this we operate a community garden in a predominantly refugee neighborhood of Portland and provide farmland access in Lisbon, Cape Elizabeth, and Falmouth, ME. Marketing collectively as Fresh Start Farms, new Americans enrolled in our farmer training program currently attend more than 20 farmers markets and operate a 200+-member CSA. Finally, Cultivating Community is an environmental action project. We model organic, sustainable, and low-impact practices and incorporate these ideals into our education, training, and volunteer programs

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Position

Cultivating Community is seeking an Assistant Farm Manager to work with our New American Sustainable Agriculture Project farmer training program on the incubator farm in Lisbon ME.

This position is a seasonal position running from April 1, 2013-October 25, 2013. We currently expect the position to be 30 hours/week April-July and 40 hours/week August – October.  The AFM will focus on all aspects of whole farm maintenance and care.  This position will be at the intersection of the Farm Manager, other NASAP staff and farmers in the training program.  Persons best fit for this job are those who have an interest in learning the ins and outs of how to manage a training farm while finding joy in the everyday challenges of farming and working with many different people.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Assist Farm manager in all aspects of whole farm system management including soil prep, cover crop, opening new fields, irrigation design, setup and storage.
• Assist in building projects such as wash station infrastructure and basic construction needs.
• Provide technical assistance to farmer participants in areas of farm systems work such as irrigation set up, midseason cover cropping, tomato staking, proper use of mulches and plastics, proper pest ID and solutions.
• Assist other NASAP staff with aspects of on farm market based technical assistance.
• Work clearly and openly with all farmer participants growing on the site as needed.

Qualifications, Education & Experience

Our new farm assistant must have:

• 1+ year working on a commercial diversified vegetable farm.
• Demonstrated interest in farmer training and sustainable agriculture.
• Experience with training in cross-cultural environments.  Understanding of language(s) beyond English a plus.
• Excellent communications and organization skills.
• Flexibility and positive attitude.
• Works well independently and as part of a team.
• Available to work a flexible schedule, including evenings and weekends.
• Reliable transportation and valid driver’s license. A background check will be performed.

Location

This position is based on our Incubator farm located in Lisbon Maine.  There may be times when off farm travel is necessary to assist farmers.

Supervision Received

This position reports to the farm manager with significant interaction with other NASAP staff.

Compensation

Commensurate with experience

Applications Due February 27^th.

To Apply to be a NASAP Assistant Farm Manager, please send materials to Sarah@cultivatingcommunity.org:

• Resume complete with current contact information
• Three references, including at least one who can specifically address your farming experience
• Answers to the following questions:

1. Are you available for the entire duration of the position (April through October)?
2. Why are you interested in working at Cultivating Community’s incubator farm site?
3. Describe your experiences and skills with farming.
4. Describe your leadership and communication style.
5. Tell us something interesting about yourself (hobbies, travels, interests, etc.).