Farm Assistant/Co-Manager

Lively Farm Assistant/Co-Manager: The Lively Farm is looking to hire a passionate farmer interested in helping to enhance an established and growing queer/woman-owned vegetable and flower farm. With seven years of experience operating as The Lively Farm, and even more history farming in our community, we have a strong base of support and necessary infrastructure in place.

We are in a position to expand our farm to move beyond $100k in annual sales, and ready to share the management and leadership load and invest in an assistant manager. We are searching for someone with plenty of farming experience and the ability to contribute to daily operations, long- and short-term planning, employee and task management, and the overall growth and success of our business.

The ideal candidate possesses: * A strong work ethic and positive attitude * An interest in managing others * A desire to help build a successful, community-scaled farm and share in both management responsibilities and financial rewards * A willingness to be involved in daily operations and decision-making

Key responsibilities for this role include: * Understanding and contributing to the crop plan * Collaborating to create efficient workflows * Participating in or leading weekly crop walks to generate harvest lists * Communicating with wholesale accounts about weekly availability * Managing garden planning (preparation, rotation, greenhouse, field, etc.) * Communicating with the crew about task expectations (e.g., weeding, transplanting, harvesting, etc.) *Working closely with another co-manager to get all tasks completed while feeling supported

Farm Operations: We’re growing on about 3 acres of land on two properties near the beautiful Sleeping Bear sand dunes with two hoop houses, drip irrigation, deer-fencing (which needs maintenance), a wash pack station, access to a walk-in cooler, a BCS tractor and access to a Massey Ferguson diesel tractor. Our farm is close enough to Glen Lake for lunchtime swims, and only about 12 minutes to Lake Michigan beaches for evening sunsets.

Farm Revenue Sources: We currently generate revenue through: *A small CSA; *Sales at Empire and Glen Arbor farmers markets during the summer; *Sales at adjacent family-owned Lively NeighborFood Market, a year-round, everyday consignment market; *Sales to four area high-end restaurants

Rate of Pay: $16 – $20/ depending on experience.

If you are looking at this position and only have a little farming experience but have some business management background and are very interested and passionate about farming we would be happy to talk with you about this opportunity. The pay would be reflected in that lack of experience, though we will always be transparent about the realities of our financial situation and compensate fairly. If you are looking at this and coming from a very qualified perspective, we would also love to talk with you! This position is new to us and we are excited to see what is possible. There is a clear path to long term involvement in the business with the right fit.

Housing: We have on-farm housing available to those coming from out of town/in need of affordable housing! Our set up is seasonal, only comfortable from ~May-October, however can be heated and extended a bit further if needed. The spaces (2) are both single bedrooms containing a full bed, dresser, hooks, plenty of windows, with additional storage space available. These spaces are quite small, however cozy and cute! A shared kitchen (below one of the bedrooms) holds a fridge, hot plates, running water, and a filtered drinking water carafe, and plenty of storage for dry goods. We have made this space work with three people using it; it’s small but functional. This is a space we are still building out and as it stands now is rather outdoors.

Length of Position We would love this position to continue year-round (though likely part time in the winter season) and most heavy on the hours from April-November (or, considering housing, May-October). This position would ideally work its way through the spring with initial introduction to the operation, the peak summer season in heavy production mode, through the fall in harvest, storage, and transition mode, and then into winter when we’d hopefully still be working through storage crops, tending to the hoophouses, and planning for the next season (reflecting, making notes, accounting, and preparing).

Please answer the following questions as an application for our farm manager position. We look forward to scheduling a phone call to discuss this opportunity further.

Why do you want to work on our farm?

What draws you to this area and this farm in particular?

What skills, experience, motivations are you bringing with you to this job?

What do you believe would make you a good manager?

Do you have any limitations such as transportation, childcare, or health concerns that we should be aware of?

Do you have questions for us about this job?

What are you excited about?

What concerns do you have?

References (names, titles, phone numbers and your relationship to this person) 1. 2. 3. (optional!)

Attach resume along with this application in an email to farmer@thelivelyfarm.com