Assistant Pea Farm Manager
Location: Yorkshire
The Company:
Fantastic family farming business with many years' experience in farming and food production specialising in the management of end-to-end supply chains on vegetable crops including peas, specialist roots and imported frozen ingredients.
Diverse markets include retail own label, B2B supplying many well-known Blue Chip corporates in the UK and EU plus smaller artisanal organic manufacturers nationwide.
The Industry: Agricultural, Farming, Fresh Produce
The Purpose of the Job:
A successful Pea harvest is a critical revenue stream. Maximising the yield is the primary focus for the Pea Operations team.
Successful pea production involves a series of operational processes which can be improved year on year to gain % improvements based on attention to detail, experience and the application of modern farming practices.
As Assistant Pea Farm Manager your role is to focus on and improve those operational processes by initially supporting the Pea Operations Manager learning from their experience and expertise. You will also use your previous farming/graduate experience to bring new insights and ways of working. To perform solo tasks helping to select, prepare, drill, manage and harvest the annual pea harvest.
Key Responsibilities:
- To assist with the management of pigeon control and crop sampling.
- To assist Operations Manager purchase seed and agrochemicals for the pea season.
- To assist Operations Manager with the organisation of all pea harvesting, sampling and service machinery ensuring that all equipment is serviced and rebuilt in time for the start of each season and put away in good condition under cover at the end of the season.
- To assist with building the land supplier database and improve upon the previous year's pea crop by selecting field locations and land types as carefully as possible.
- To learn to prepare a detailed phased drilling/harvesting plan to best suit the land types and geographical areas planned for peas.
- To observe and help manage all land preparation, cultivation, drilling, rolling etc. post plough for all fields. And ensure that the actual drilling of fields is phased based on standard parameters such as soil temperature, seed germination, altitude and soil types.
- To have regular contact with land suppliers throughout the year and keep them informed of what is expected of them in relation to the pea crop.
- To use various industry bodies such as PGRO, seed providers and Agronomist discussions to look at new opportunities and set up appropriate trials in order to try to enhance quality and yield.
Person Skills and Qualifications:
- Graduate or Degree level in an Agricultural related subject.
- Strong work ethic - this is a seasonally focused role with a very busy summer and quieter winter months - harvest season between end of June and early September is a 24/7 operation.
- Integrity - sourcing from safe food production environment and producing food to the correct food safety standards is a personal value.
- Flexible and open minded - able to adapt to changing crop safety standards, weather related and crop maturity related plan alterations throughout the season.
- Specialist - you have/will build a deep knowledge of the technical characteristics of the products and farm systems required to work within. By networking, reading, viewing and listening to the business and sector specific world around you.
- Internally motivated - goal oriented and driven to make continuous improvements.
- You are a great communicator - concise, clear, consistent and convincing with all stakeholders remembering each recipient may need communicating with differently.
The Package:
Highly competitive depending upon experience.
To submit your application please click the 'Apply Now' button.
