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Job description

ROLE: Head Grower 

DURATION: Full time

SALARY: £30-35k depending on experience 

START: Part time from October - January, Full time February onwards   

LOCATION: Higher Farm, Sutton, BA4 6QF (nearest station Castle Cary, 5min drive, 15min walk)

ACCOMMODATION: Potential accommodation available on site and near the site

Project overview

Higher farm is a 50 acre site near Castle Cary, Somerset. Nested in a beautiful location close to Frome, Glastonbury and Bruton. The project aims to regenerate local food systems and to enable an agroecological transition through natural food production, education, research and community engagement. The project is in its first year, giving excellent opportunities for experience in setting up and growing a business. 

This first year, we will be establishing our market garden and agroforestry system, developing our routes to market and setting up our operations. Alongside the natural farming project we are developing an onsite farm shop, restaurant, event space, artisan business space and accommodation. In the coming years we will be implementing a forest garden and plant nursery, a native forest restoration project and silvopasture systems across the site. In the third year we will start to run courses in permaculture, agroecology and natural farming, seeking to scale those courses from day courses to full residential courses, eventually aiming for long term residencies and certified courses that train the next generation of natural farmers.

Job Description

We are looking for an experienced grower to head up our market garden growing operations. You will work closely with our farm manager to design, implement and maintain our market garden. You will be principally responsible for the sowing, growing, harvesting, sales and distribution of our market garden produce. Initially you will work closely with the farm manager to establish our infrastructure and growing systems. Following which, you will take on responsibility for the market garden, growing vegetables for sales direct to consumers in the locality. 

Responsibilities 

Initially you will be working part time as we build up our readiness for the full growing season. You will be working very closely with our farm manager, who will essentially also act as a head grower with you in the first year. The farm manager will have more of a focus on developing our routes to market, the design and implementation of our next growing systems, the management of agroforestry systems, networking in the local area, community & public engagement, fertility management, research, education, landscape management, liaising with contractors and organising staff. You will start part time enabling us to get to know each other and to really integrate you into our ecosystem and allowing you to have a hand in the design of our growing systems which you will help to manage.

Your responsibilities will include the following:

October -  January, 4 month, Part Time Starting Period

• Assisting in the implementation of our forest garden agroforestry rows and market garden alleys.
• Assisting in the implementation of our wildlife pond and native forest nudging
• Assisting with the implementation of farm infrastructure including polytunnels, irrigation, fencing, tree guards, compost systems, wormery, mobile chicken tractor, bioreactor 
• Crop planning
• Developing our order receiving,washing, picking and distribution plans as the Farm Manager start to establish our routes to market 
• Assisting in our animal management 

February Onwards, Full time 

• Market garden planning, multi-crop production, harvesting and managing the picking, packing of orders ready for distribution.
• Maintaining equipment and infrastructure. 
• Assisting in the implementation of new growing systems.
• Assisting in the collection of data for research purposes.

Skills and experience 

• Gardening at a commercial scale
• Leadership, team management and people development
• Order fulfilment for commercial growing systems 
• Use and maintenance of farm machinery 
• Crop planning
• Knowledge of agroecology, permaculture and regenerative farming practices

Desirable extra experience

• Local to the area 
• Growing flowers
• Floristry
• Bee keeping
• Experience with animals
• DIY Building

 

Application information

To apply - Please send CV and cover letter to jehan-basil@higher-farm.co.uk

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