Wanted: Farmer Services Coordinator

Now Hiring: Farmer Services Coordinator

Position: Farmer Services Coordinator

Location: Spruce Pine, NC

Compensation: Salary range is $45,000 to $56,000, full time, exempt. This full-time position includes benefits, including paid health insurance and/or health and wellness benefits, and paid time off.  Hours will vary throughout the year, and may require some early morning, evening, and weekend work. Travel to area farms and events will be reimbursed at the national rate.

Posting Date:  3/6/2024

Closing Date:  4/1/2024

How To Apply: By the closing date, please send a resume, cover letter and three references with the subject line “Farmer Services Coordinator” to sierra@tractorfoodandfarms.com. Applicants who do not follow this procedure may not be reviewed. If you have questions or would like a paper application, please call 828-536-0126.

About TRACTOR Food & Farms

TRACTOR Food & Farms is a 501c3 non-profit food hub operating in Spruce Pine, NC. Programming looks to connect local farmers with local markets and increase access to local food across Western North Carolina. TRACTOR’s farm network includes over 200 small farms in eight counties. The organization’s mission is to increase access to local food by empowering local farmers and consumers alike, reconnecting people with agriculture for a healthier community, environment and economy.

About Working Landscapes

Working Landscapes is a non-profit, community-based organization in Warrenton, NC, dedicated to building healthy and sustainable lives and livelihoods through the stewardship of our natural and cultural assets. Since 2010, Working Landscapes has developed or aided many agricultural, public health, and environmental initiatives, but the core of our work has been the development of our food hub, ByWay Foods. Our facility contains shared storage space and a fresh-cut processing facility that allows us to supply food access programs and local school cafeterias with fresh produce grown in our own region. Our business is a crucial intermediary helping to increase the market for sustainable, locally grown produce by educating consumers and coordinating sales with farmers. The work of this new project is an extension of our role as a community-based intermediary to facilitate the adoption of climate-smart practices on our farmland. By joining our team, you’ll be part of a cultural movement toward the regeneration of our land, community, and economy. The work we do now will enhance our true wealth–our knowledge, skills, health, and ecological function–and increase our collective resilience for the challenges in decades ahead.

Farmer Services Coordinator Description

We are seeking a team member to provide multifaceted 1-1 assistance to farmers to help them find solutions to improving their farm, managing their farm business, and accessing external farmer assistance programs. A major component of this role is enrolling and advising farmers in a USDA Climate-Smart Commodities grant program, managed by Working Landscapes. The project will bring together community-based farmer service methods, cutting-edge soil science, and emerging climate-smart marketing strategies into a single program. The Farmer Services Coordinator serves at the nexus between TRACTOR Food and Farms (the regional food hub partner), and Working Landscapes (the food hub project leader), in achieving the objectives of the program. The groundwork of the coordinator role is building relationships of trust with farmers, then providing informed and effective service to benefit their farm and the broader food system. As a coordinator, you’ll be the boots on the ground to enroll farms in the climate-smart program, help them select and implement climate-smart practices, and assess the ecological impacts. You’ll also be the primary point person for assisting farmers in answering the broader question of how to bring sustainably grown produce to local markets. This may include coordinating procurement for TRACTOR’s market channels, QAQC, providing grant writing assistance, organizing workshops, managing a newsletter, providing on-farm technical production assistance, and meeting other needs identified by farmers and TRACTOR. The role is multifaceted and fundamentally relational. We’re seeking candidates with diverse experiences in farming and food systems, farmer services, and program coordination who can effectively serve historically underserved populations. If this energizes you, we eagerly invite you to apply.

Responsibilities

·    Manage a cohort of farmers through on-farm visits, regular communication, and organized file tracking to coordinate their enrollment and participation in the project

·    Build trust with farmers through active listening, compassionate service, clear and transparent communication, and cultural sensitivity

·    Understand and promote the practical methods and scientific basis of regenerative agriculture and soil health to a farmer audience

·    Utilize standard procedures and paperwork (tailored to context) to collect farm information and document project activities

·    Collaborate with farmers and utilize project templates to develop a Climate-Smart Transition Plan for each farm that connects farmers’ climate-smart goals with actionable project activities

·    Build relationships with local food hub personnel and serve as a local liaison between Working Landscapes, the farmer cohort, and food hub personnel

·    Follow procedures and training provided by Emory University personnel for collecting soil samples and conducting other ecological assessments, and training farmers in these methods

·    Build relationships with local public, private, and non-profit representatives of local agriculture and food systems organizations and stay informed about local agricultural events and news

·    Collaborate with local stakeholders to organize quarterly in-person educational events

·    Meet farmers multifaceted needs that may contribute to project goals, such as assisting with additional grant or certification applications, or providing business management assistance

·    Contribute to ongoing project evaluation and strategic planning activities organized by project leadership, including the marketing of climate-smart products

·    Diligently and promptly maintain project data and prepare quarterly reports according to templates

·    Represent project mission and goals effectively and professionally in a diversity of circumstances

·    Take responsibility for and demonstrate persistence and creativity in meeting project goals

·    Plan and coordinate technical and educational workshops/events

·    Manage shared-use equipment lease program

·    Assist with warehouse operations including product QAQC, packaging and distribution

In addition to the above project activities, also the following organizational activities as needed: 

·    Contribute to grant proposals, fundraising initiatives, or story-telling on behalf of the organization

·    Stay abreast of relevant news and developments in the sector; engage in professional development

·    Contribute content (short writing, images, statistics on programs) to organizational promotional materials on a regular basis

·    Represent the organization through networking events, conferences, media events, collaborative projects, open houses, etc. as requested; help to organize events as appropriate

·    Promote a healthy, respectful, adaptive and productive workplace culture

Qualifications

·    At least two years of experience in farming, food systems, soil science, or related field

·    Experience working and living in a rural community and setting.

·    Excellent verbal and written communications skills

·    Well-organized and detail-oriented work style; a personable disposition suited to managing active partnerships with farmers, participating food hubs, and other project partners

·    Strong computer skills, with ability to quickly learn and use new programs

·    Strong understanding of the principles and methods of regenerative agriculture, and ability to explain ideas and practices to diverse populations

·    Strong understanding of current issues and stakeholders in the regenerative food system movement locally and nationally

Work Environment: The Farm Coordinator will operate in a professional office environment, a food facility, and at farm and vendor locations. This role routinely uses technology and equipment such as computers, tablets, printers, label makers, and GPS navigation. TRACTOR is a food and agriculture non-profit, and schedules during the summer months are often hectic and unpredictable. Some flexibility in scheduling between 6a and 7p is required.

TRACTOR Respect Policy: TRACTOR promotes ethical and respectful communication and has zero-tolerance for unwarranted negative or aggressive treatment of colleagues or other professionals, including harmful comments made concerning race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, political belief, religion and mental or physical disability. Any employee engaging in conduct contrary to this policy may be terminated immediately. If an employee endures such treatment, a complaint form should be submitted to a supervisor for review.

How To Apply: By the closing date, please send a resume, cover letter and three references with the subject line “Farmer Services Coordinator” to sierra@tractorfoodandfarms.com. Applicants who do not follow this procedure may not be reviewed. If you have questions or would like a paper application, please call 828-536-0126.

Working Landscapes & TRACTOR are equal opportunity employers.

Learn more about our organizations

www.WorkingLandscapesNC.org

ByWayFoods.com

www.tractorfoodandfarms.com