Hiring: Multiple Positions – Red Fire Farm

Red Fire Farm is looking to fill several positions for this season and next. Ideally, folks would start now to train through the fall.

To apply to any position, please send a resume with three relevant references and a letter of interest outlining your experience to jobs@redfirefarm.com.

Production Manager

The Production Manager is responsible for all aspects of tractor work, record keeping, detailed vegetable cultivation, training of junior tractor operators and general staff management. S/he works closely with other department managers both on the Montague Farm and our Granby site.

We need a person who is motivated by responsibility as well as by the pace, pressure and vagaries of farming in New England. Perspective and a good sense of humor are preferred. Charisma is helpful.

At Red Fire, we grow for several markets — CSA, wholesale, retail — and we grow pretty much every crop that can survive in this climate. We are dedicated to producing a high-quality product and the success of that begins with good cultivation.

Candidates should have:

• At least five years experience farming;
• At least two years in a management position on a farm;
• Previous experience on a large (60-80 acre) mixed vegetable farm;
• Experience with a variety of tractors and implements.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills;

In this role, you’ll be in charge of developing and overseeing daily production tasks for crews. It will also be up to you to give feedback to tractor operators and crew leaders. This position is part of the core leadership, you’ll be required to attend monthly managers meetings and work with the leadership team to create a positive, supportive culture for everyone who works on the farm.

Other responsibilities include:

• Keep all production records (inputs, actuals, etc.) up to date and organized
• Manage scheduling of and participate in irrigation and frost protection
• Keep inventory of supplies
• Coordinate machinery maintenance and repair with farm owner and farm mechanic
• Organize weed crew and, toward the fall, bulk harvest crew.

Assistant Harvest Manager

The ideal candidate has experience working on a diverse, organic vegetable farm and is committed to growing local, organic food. This person will be working closely with our Harvest Manager and other management staff, will be helping to supervise crews, and must be able to work well both independently and collaboratively. We’re running a large operation with a 1500 member CSA, wholesale and retail, and over 100 acres in production. We need someone who is organized, hardworking, and thinks creatively to solve problems and improve systems. There will be opportunity for advancement for the right person.

Below are the Harvest Manager’s responsibilities, which you will be learning and assisting with:

Harvest Responsibilities:

• Create daily harvest lists with crew and field information
• Manage morning meeting and transition, along with Production Manager, for quick, clear communication and fast activation of all crews immediately following
• Coordinate harvest crews, including follow-up work, or delegate this to Packing or Harvest Supervisor
• Create weekday crew assignments
• Know best field locations for each crop in season, and inform crew leaders
• Coordinates changes to orders and CSA with farm owner
• Give weekly harvest tips at morning meeting as starting new crops, based on weekly list details
• Lead or be on harvest crews when not fulfilling other duties

 Packing Responsibilities

• Oversight and double-checking of quality standards
• Weekly checks of pack-out for different markets
• Give weekly quality tips at morning meeting based on what you’re seeing coming through the packing shed
• Watch quality of purchased in items, with weekly periodic checks, and resolve issues with Sales/Logistics
• Assist  in overseeing layout, organization and daily cleanliness of packing space, including coolers, barn and any seasonal crop storage areas like greenhouses
• Create sanitation plan for equipment and crew training and oversee implementation
• Assist in truck and delivery loading
• Stay in daily contact with shed about status of order fulfillment
• Check back stock in coolers daily for use towards harvest and give back stock reports to other managers as needed

Management

• Labor oversight, position planning, and allocation for harvest processes
• Read farm owner’s “Weekly List” and “Weekly Harvest Plans and Notes” before work every Monday and implement notes
• Overall management of labor efficiency for pack and harvest –define training goals, training schedule and bring in assistance as needed to accomplish efficiency, utilize HR manager, other training resources
• Define and maintain schedules for work day processes – make sure meeting goals, allocate, oversee hires, call in, send home or lay off crew to accomplish most efficient schedule, trim the fat
• Inform and coordinate Granby harvest and pack process for best integration with Montague system
• Review methods for harvest and packing processes to improve efficiency, and train in new methods

Logistics Manager

The Logistics Manager oversees our crew of drivers, our fleet of box trucks and is the master of our busy delivery schedule for CSA shares and wholesale orders.

The person in this role works closely with the harvest and packing managers to get the daily flow of produce from our fields (or from our root cellar in winter) to the wash house and ultimately to our customers — many of them in the Boston area. The Logistics Manager helps ensure our high quality standards and is responsible for accurate, prompt deliveries as well as the transport of supplies, plants and other items between our two locations.

Red Fire is a complex operation, with fields in Montague and Granby, Mass. We grow a diversity of crops for a large CSA membership, farmers markets, our own farm stands, local wholesale customers and we are the official Massachusetts farm for the Wegman’s supermarkets in the Baystate. The Logistics Manager has a hand in a bit of everything we do.

Duties and Expectations

• Manage schedule for pickup/delivery for fleet of trucks
• Hire drivers, train them and manage drivers/provide feedback
• Conduct basic vehicle checks (tires, fluids, etc) and keep track of checks in an excel doc with help from the farm mechanic and vehicle maintenance assistant
• Help improve flow for packing shed systems
• Manage storage crops and inventory of supplies
• Help bring order to packing shed supplies/keep inventory in stock
• Provide quality checks at point of truck loading/ help provide feedback to overall 
management
• Work with harvest and packing managers to keep records of what is harvested and
delivered through the season.

2017 Crew

Experienced tractor operators and field crew

All positions are located at our Montague Farm.