Company description

Stonegate Farm is an 1850s Carpenter Gothic estate farm in New York’s Hudson River Valley, one hour North of New York City. We grow and create beauty and wellness products from our organic flowers, herbs and fruit, as well as run supper programs, events, and educational workshops. Originally part of a large estate, the National Historic Register farm and Italianate Villa have been meticulously restored, while the surrounding land is in organic cultivation, and also serves as teaching and wellness event venue.

The farm serves a diverse local community, as well as a national audience through its profiles in magazine articles, podcasts, and books. Cultivate Apothecary at Stonegate Farm has a national retail audience for its skincare and wellness products, and is open on the weekends. We have an outdoor farm supper program throughout the season (@dirtkitchnny), as well as regular yoga and wellness events.

Job description

Full-time Farm Manager needed for the 2023 season at Stonegate Farm (@stonegatefarmNY) in the Hudson Valley, NY. This is a full-time, year-round position with responsibilities changing based on the season: November – March being considered off-season and April – October in-season. This is an opportunity for someone with farming experience who is keenly interested in local, organic flower and medicinal herb production and small, sustainable vegetable and fruit farming.

The farm season begins with seed starting in March in one of three greenhouses on the property, and continues into the season with soil and bed prep, hardening off, planting out, growing, cultivating, harvesting, and processing. Work with medicinal herbs for @cultivateapothecary, and growing for the farm’s seasonal supper program @dirtkitchenny are also part of the farm manager’s responsibilities.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Seed starting: working with growing media, seed selection & supply, crop planning, planting, greenhouse management, pest and disease control, direct seeding, hardening off.
• Soil prep: Broad-forking, tilling, composting, soil amendment, fertilizing, water and pest management, cover cropping, row covering, drainage, PH management.
• Planting: inter-planting, succession scheduling and planting, thinning, crop rotation, crop protection, companion planting.
• Orchard: fruit tree pruning (suckering), organic pest management, bramble layering, orchard maintenance.
• Growing: Herbs and botanicals; lettuce, greens; vines & fruiting vegetables; tubers, roots & bulbs; flowers, herbs, and edible blooms, berries, brambles & tree fruit; chickens, eggs & coop.
• Farm Infrastructure and Maintenance: Water systems, fencing and netting, row cover and hoops, edging and weeding, equipment and tool maintenance, building maintenance, land clearing, drainage systems, support systems, sales and small ag. business systems.
• Vertical Integrations: Monetizing small farm business, from herbalism and formulation to food service and on-farm events.

EXPERIENCE:

• Have at least two seasons of on-farm experience, and/or a certified education/apprenticeship in farming, herbalism, floriculture, or relative study, be highly motivated and hard working.
• Be familiar with the physical demands and protocols of farming. Understand the importance of efficiency, multi-tasking and plant management.
• Be curious, detail-oriented, self-directed, ambitious.
• Be able to communicate well and express areas of interest, and contribute to the active dialogue of collective work.
• Have a strong physical & mental work ethic.
• Be comfortable working alone, as well as managing other farm workers/volunteers. Must have a positive attitude and team mentality.
• Have a passionate interest in organics, sustainability, farming, floraculture and herbalism.

COMPENSATION:
Salary beginning at $31,200/year*, with room for growth. Five day work week, 40hrs/wk. Separate housing on historic gate house property with full amenities included in compensation. 10 paid holiday days per annum. Performance and salary review within first season. Applicants must have their own transportation. No smoking or pets.

* Housing rents for $1,200/mo. Total compensation with housing is $45,600.

ABOUT THE FARM:
The farm is small, (3 acres / 1 active) sustainable, bio-intensive and integrated into a residential district; a model of local, small-scale community farming that is central to the owner’s philosophy.

Located in an historic residential neighborhood, the farm serves as a model of organic and sustainable food, floriculture, and herbal production. The farm is on three acres, with almost half of that in active use. Besides vegetables, medicinal herbs and flowers, an historic orchard provides heirloom apples, pears, quince, as well as unusual bramble fruit such as black currant, gooseberry, elderberry and aronia. There is an organic flower and herb farm, as well as a flock Americauna and Cookoo Maran hens.

Compensation

this position is: salaried, $35,568* - $50,000

Application instructions

Deadline

January 31, 2023