Find your place in the field of good food

Our goal is to connect good people with good food. We advertise sustainable food jobs and training opportunities to help jobseekers and employers find each other.

Roots to Work is a project of Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming.

Senior Grower

Maple Farm Kelsale
Kelsale, near Saxmundham

Posted: 21 Feb 2025

Deadline: 7 Apr 2025

Compensation: £25,000-£28,000 per annum depending on experience

Paid Full-time

Job description

Is becoming Senior Grower at Maple Farm, Kelsale, Suffolk your perfect job?

Maple Farm, Kelsale has won awards for its approach to innovation and nature conservation. We have been growing organic produce for over 20 years on the Suffolk Coast. We are pioneers of agroforestry in our arable crops. We grow heritage wheats and grains for our stone mill and to feed our now famous laying hens. The farm has orchards, biodiversity-rich hedgerows, woodland and meadows as well as our market garden. We have an on-site farm store, host a growing range of pop-ups and a popular café @Pinch.

The market garden covers 4 acres, with outdoor crops and 8 large polytunnels currently grow a wide range of fruit and vegetables mostly to supply our on- farm store which is well supported by the local community including our leading chefs. We collaborate increasingly closely with other organic growers and form part of a hub distributing better food to the wider neighbourhood

Senior Grower

As a Senior Grower you will work as the lead vegetable grower on the farm. Advising and working alongside our current experienced assistant grower and a team of volunteers. You will take the lead in crop planning in the polytunnels and the field space, ensuring crop rotation, succession planting and maintaining continuous cropping throughout the seasons. You will oversee all planting and harvesting plans although your style will encourage others to take greater responsibility for their areas or crops. You will be known for your strong communication skills and for helping build a close-knit team spirit. Maple Farm, Kelsale is seen as a beacon of good food and good practice by many and this role will suit someone who wants to thrive in this environment and build on it.

It is important that you have some seasons of relevant experience in organic vegetable growing at a farm scale and can also demonstrate some leadership experience of a small team which includes volunteers. Experience in tractor driving would be a positive along with working to Organic Standards.

Maple Farm, Kelsale welcomes change and innovation so a candidate who is excited by new ideas and methods will feel at home.

Your duties will include:

• All round crop planning including propagation, planting, and harvesting plans.
• Undertaking and overseeing planting, weeding, irrigation, organic pest control of field and polytunnel crops.
• Harvesting and preparing fruit and vegetables ready for onward sale.
• Keeping harvest records.
• Working to the Soil Association Organic standards.
• Using machinery to mow or rotavate and possibly tractor work.
• Working either alone, in a team and supporting volunteers.
• A willingness to meet other local food users to seek new produce outlets.

Full time role; 7-3pm Monday to Friday with weekend work during the growing season.

Application information

If you are interested then please send us a covering letter and CV to growers@maplefarmkelsale.co.uk . We really look forward to hearing from you.

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