Company description

Mature 150-acre 130-ewe sheep and hay farm looking for experienced Farm Manager or other staff person with the option of building ownership over time.

Tamarack Vermont Sheep Farm is looking for a Farm Manager/Business Partner to take the farm
into its next phase. Our fantastic long-time farm manager transitioning out in late summer, and a
variety of possible roles could be available for the right candidate. These include:

• Managing the farm for the current owner/manager
• Acting as assistant manager
• Becoming a partner and future owner of the farm
• Serving as a farmhand.

Tamarack Sheep Farm is an established self-sustaining farm business with high quality livestock; unique products, customers, and markets; new or good condition equipment; good infrastructure; and solid vendor relationships. Tamarack is dedicated to producing good food, conserving heritage breeds, and restoring and caring for land. We focus on two main heritage breeds: the Dorset Horn and the Tunis, which have been managed from the same bloodlines within our family for 100 years. We have participated with nonprofit partners in generic collection efforts, with genetic material from our flock stored in the Smithsonian Institute Washington DC. We rotationally graze our 130 ewes in the summer and use a combination of barns and out-wintering during the winter months. We make our own hay and use tractors and skid steers for hay making and winter feeding. After weaning, our lambs are fed a combination of grass, grain, and hay. Our primary product is meat, while hay is a secondary product. We own our farm in Corinth, Vermont, and lease other fields in the area.

More information can be found at http://tamarackvermont.com.

Job description

Tamarack is adding to the team and the role can be shaped by the interests and the capabilities of the applicant.  Tamarack is a mature 150-acre 130-ewe Sheep and Hay Farm looking for an experienced Farm Manager with the option of building ownership over time, or an assistant farm manager or general farm hand. Our fantastic long-time farm manager transitioning out in late summer, and a variety of possible roles could be available for the right candidate. These include:

• Managing the farm for the current owner/manager
• Acting as assistant manager
• Becoming a partner and future owner of the farm
• Serving as a farmhand.

The farm has a terrific assistant farm manager who will be staying on, is flexible regarding the evolution of his role, and is interested in seeing who else wishes to join the farm and what skills and interests they bring with them.  The position is full-time and year around.

Year-round work at Tamarack includes livestock feeding and handling in indoor and outdoor areas, flock health monitoring and husbandry, basic farm construction and maintenance, equipment operation and maintenance, and assessing and improving the quality of pasture and hayfields. The team will manage the ins and outs of a production-scale livestock operation that is dedicated to animal welfare, meat and hay production, and caring for the working landscape. Tamarack has between 200 and 400 animals at any given time and manages approximately 150 acres of pasture and hayland.

Seasonal work includes:

• Summer: Rotational grazing using flexi net, hay-making including tractor operation and maintenance, high tensile fence maintenance, soil and forage sampling, grazing planning, selecting breeding stock and market animals, preparing lambs for market, trucking.
• Fall: Breeding for the subsequent winter’s lambing, fall grazing management, feeding round bales in outdoor paddocks, finishing market lambs and bringing to market.
• Winter: Infrastructure repair and equipment maintenance, planning for the following spring and summer, preparation for lambing. Lambing begins in February and is the most intensive season on the farm.
• Spring: End of lambing, managing ewe/lamb pairs, weaning, preparation for haying and grazing.

General Qualifications:

• Experience with sheep, lambing, grazing, grass, haymaking, equipment operation. 
• Interest in practical and efficient operations, positive attitude, proactive, organized and neat.
• Ability to do outdoor and physical labor in a variety of conditions
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Strong work ethic and communication skills
• Valid Drivers’ license and reliable transportation due to our rural location
• Working cell phones
• Pluses: interest in or skill with equipment; experience with livestock, especially sheep; experience with software.

Terms of Employment:

• Full-time, with seasonal variation, but year-round.
• Basic housing is available at either a discounted rate or no cost. 
• Salary commensurate with experience, with increases as experience is gained, or shared revenue structure for incoming partners or business purchasers.  
• Benefits phase in and include retirement matching, health insurance, paid vacation.
• For the right candidate the work can begin immediately.

Compensation

this position is: salaried, 35,568* - 50k

Application instructions

Deadline

no deadline