Farm Manager

Join the Alstede Farms team! We are first generation family farm producing a variety of fruits, vegetables, and flowers on 800 beautiful and productive farmland acres. We grow local produce for our CSA, farm markets, Pick Your Own and our year-round farm store. We have modern equipment and infrastructure as well as significant new plantings of high-density tree fruit and other perennial crops. We are dedicated to providing high-quality homegrown local fruits and vegetables and memorable farm experiences for our PYO customers. This is accomplished through a highly motivated employee team that is focused on customer service and the sustainable stewardship of God’s natural resources. Join a team of out-of-the-box thinkers constantly focused on growing our operation. We have an outstanding and highly progressive farm operation.

We’re Recruiting and hiring an additional full-time Farm Production Manager to be located in beautiful Chester, New Jersey. As a Farm Production Manager, you will be working as a Production Team member in conjunction with a Senior Farm Production Manager, and Assistant Production Manager, and a Production Supervisory where you will manage aspects of fruit, vegetable, Christmas Tree, and greenhouse production; including planting, irrigation, pest control, labor management, harvesting, and additional aspects of farm crop production. You will be in an active management role that requires attention to detail, the ability to both recognize and solve problems and communicate with people, both customers and coworkers. You will also be leading our packing house and cider mill operations. Given the broad variety of crops, our high Agri-tourism visitation, and our large diversified team, we’re looking for a strong communicator and collaborator. This position reports to the Senior Farm Production Manager.

We offer a very competitive compensation package including housing, health, retirement, paid time off, and promotion opportunities.

An ideal candidate would bring:

• Associate’s or bachelor’s degree in agriculture, horticulture, crop and soil sciences or related field or have equivalent experience.
• Bring more than 5+ years of orchard and/or vegetable farming experience along with mechanical ability.
• Proven ability to lead a team in a fast-paced environment.
• Willingness to work extended hours, up to 6 days a week (50-60 hours) during peak seasons.
• Interest in working within the complexity of our highly diversified retail business.
• A passion for agriculture and food production.

What you will be doing:

• Manage efficient farm operations while maximizing labor and equipment resources
• Manage and oversee daily irrigation operations, including repairs, movement and installation
• Lead packing house operations to ensure proper inventories of incoming and outgoing produce, working closely with the Senior Farm Production Manager, Retail Operations Manager, CSA and Tailgate Chiefs
• Making pest control evaluations and decisions within an Integrated Pest Management approach
• Manage farm production records of all spray, pesticide, application, planting, care, production, and harvesting records
• Purchase farm supplies, farm chemicals, fertilizer and lime, seeds and plants
• Align daily counts of fresh produce to distribution demands to Alstede Farms marketing outlets
• Understanding and communicating shortages across the organization
• Focus on reduction of wasted product through better inventory controls through crop planning
• Asist with maintenance and repairs of equipment and facilities