The board of directors of Maine Farmland Trust (MFT) seeks a passionate advocate and inspiring leader to serve as president and CEO, and invites new applications for this position. Maine Farmland Trust protects farmland, supports farmers, and advances the future of farming in Maine. The overarching goal of this respected nonprofit is to protect Maine farmland and revitalize Maine’s rural landscape by keeping agricultural lands working and helping farmers and communities thrive.

Organizational Overview

Founded in 1999, Maine Farmland Trust is rooted in the belief that the future of farming depends on farmland and that the future of Maine communities depends on thriving farms. The organization’s evolving programming is designed to meet the complex and changing needs of the state’s farm community, with a consistent focus on:

• Farmland. Protecting Maine’s finite farmland from development and creating more affordable access to land for all farmers—through agricultural easements and other tools—is key to ensuring that Maine has the farmland and farmers needed to sustain our region long-term.
• Farmers. Thriving farm businesses feed Maine’s local communities and economy and keep farmland in farming. MFT’s Farm Network programs offer holistic support to farmers at every stage of the farming journey.
• Future. Through grassroots organizing and advocacy, policy change, research, storytelling, and collaboration with local farmers, MFT is helping create an environment that will support thriving, interconnected Maine farms for generations to come.

MFT supports a growing network of more than 500 farms through our programs, including permanent protection on more than 370 farms, keeping nearly 68,000 acres of farmland in agriculture. This Farm Network is representative of Maine’s diverse agricultural community, spanning all 16 counties and various scales and types of farming. MFT’s membership currently exceeds 2,200, and MFT’s staff work across the state, with offices in Belfast and Portland.

In recent years, MFT has firmly centered farmers’ voices and reorganized structurally to promote communication, collaboration, and holistic service to farmers; developed the strength of its staff leadership team, made critical organizational investments, deepened its policy and research program in recognition of the magnitude and complexity of the challenges at hand; and been a national leader in responding to the crisis of PFAS chemical contamination on farms. 

In the face of increasing development, environmental risks, market pressures, and a wave of farmers nearing retirement age, MFT’s work to protect farmland and support farmers is more important than ever. With an annual budget of more than $10 million, the organization has made steady progress toward its goals with the support of a growing community of Mainers dedicated to this vital work. 

More information about MFT’s leadership, programs, and specific impact can be found at the website: https://www.mainefarmlandtrust.org/.

Role and Responsibilities

The president and CEO oversees and guides strategy for public engagement and philanthropy and works in close collaboration with MFT’s leadership team to advance the organization’s strategic vision, deepening its impact. The president and CEO is instrumental in broadening MFT’s base of support, inspiring new levels of public and private commitment and enduring partnerships, including through the planning and execution of comprehensive fundraising campaigns; further magnifying farmers’ voices; and accelerating the changes needed to serve Maine farmers, secure Maine farmland, and protect Maine’s future. This individual partners with MFT’s leadership team on aspects related to financial management, programming, advocacy, farmer engagement, stewardship and board and staff development. 

The president and CEO will report directly to the board of directors and continue to foster a culture of trust, transparency, and teamwork among staff and the entire network.

Position Requirements

Leading Maine Farmland Trust will require an energetic visionary with a broad set of skills and abilities. The board expects that the successful candidate will bring to the organization:

• Senior-level leadership experience, preferably in the nonprofit sector, including proven ability to lead collaboratively and support a diverse, highly motivated, geographically dispersed staff
• Demonstrated ability to lead the implementation of an ambitious comprehensive fundraising strategy, with a focus on cultivating relationships with and securing transformative gifts from major donors, foundations, and other potential funders in a campaign context     
• A proven track record as an effective relationship-builder, and as a skilled and confident communicator who is poised to listen and ready to represent MFT among an array of audiences, ranging from farmers to policymakers to funders
• Ability and desire to work collaboratively with members of MFT’s strong, seasoned leadership team
• Excellent financial acumen, with proven experience in organizational sustainability, budgetary management and oversight, planning, and goal setting
• Experience in developing and executing strategic plans that result in measurable outcomes
• Experience working in partnership with a board of directors and supporting strategic board development and best governance practice
• Skill in facilitating complex discussions and engaging with a diversity of interested parties     
• An understanding of the complexities of conservation and agriculture, and an appreciation for the people who steward our land and grow our food
• Authenticity, curiosity, humility, and adaptability, with a fundamentally kind and compassionate approach
• Demonstrated commitment to and experience in advancing diversity, equity, justice, and inclusion

This position can be based out of Maine Farmland Trust’s Portland or Belfast office.

Compensation 

The president and CEO will earn a competitive salary of $170,000 - $185,000, commensurate with experience, and benefits including a group health plan, group vision and dental plans, a 401(K) retirement plan, wellness and farm share benefits, and paid vacation, holidays and other forms of paid time-off. The successful candidate can expect a formal review after the initial six months, as well as an annual review thereafter.

Nondiscrimination

Maine Farmland Trust does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, national origin, ancestry, public assistance, ethnic background, religion, marital status, economic class, age, disability, sex, creed, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression and any other legally protected characteristic. The organization complies with all applicable national, state, and local laws pertaining to nondiscrimination and equal opportunity.

To apply 

Interested candidates should send a resume and a cover letter explaining why they are interested in this opportunity and how it is well-aligned with their strengths to Starboard Leadership Consulting at the following address: [email protected]. Inquiries may be directed to the same email address. Paper copies of applications may be sent to Jessica Weiner, Starboard Leadership Consulting, 84 Harlow St., Bangor, ME 04401, but electronic submissions of material are preferred.  No phone inquiries, please. 

The application deadline is Wednesday, October 23, and review of all submissions will begin immediately thereafter. 

Philo Ridge Farm (PRF) is a certified organic 500-acre farm in Charlotte, Vermont, a rich agricultural community in the Champlain Valley, just south of Burlington.

PRF is a diversified farm in its seventh year of production. We grow two acres of organic produce and perennial fruits alongside two year-round greenhouses. Our farming practices build soil health, produce a variety of nutrient-dense foods, reduce the use of fossil fuels, and support the local agricultural community. The farm is also home to our restaurant, Market, and commercial food processing facilities, and is a year-round gathering place in the community.

Job Summary: Philo Ridge Farm is seeking an experienced, solution-oriented leader to be our Gardens & Growing Manager. The Gardens & Growing Manager’s work is rooted in the farm’s ecological mission to steward a responsible, sustainable, organic agricultural system. This position will be a member of the operations team on the farm and will oversee all aspects of garden planning, operations, and administrative processes. The Gardens & Growing Manager will provide day-to-day management and operational coordination of the garden team, equipment, resources, and facilities.

As the farm hosts community events, education spaces and other workshops, the Gardens & Growing Manager participates in and supports these events alongside the rest of the team. The Gardens & Growing Manager must share PRF’s passion for land conservation and stewardship, organic agricultural production, collaborative research initiatives, and a commitment to using our land and resources for the benefit of our community. In collaboration with the owners, the Gardens & Growing Manager is responsible for coordinating the use and activation of the vegetable growing area at the farm, which is approximately two acres and consists of two primary fields, a greenhouse, a propagation house, three caterpillar tunnels, and perennial plantings around the farm property.

This is a multi-faceted role with many diverse responsibilities, requiring a strong operational and agricultural know-how, an intrapreneurial and creative thinking-centered approach to problem-solving and a long-range focus on continuous improvement and creating and bringing value to the community. As a member of the operations team, the Gardens & Growing Manager will be a clear communicator, an active listener, and a source of positive inspiration for the team at the farm.

Responsibilities

Operations

• Manage department staff and all day-to-day garden department operations and activities
• Oversee all aspects of organic production including propagation, field work, and integrated pest and disease management in compliance with Organic Certification
• Collaborate closely with the Kitchen to inform cultivation decisions and maximize utilization
• Collaborate closely with farm teams and the owners for consistent alignment of priorities
• Maintain records for Organic Certification
• Manage care and cultivation of perennial buffer zones
• Manage care and cultivation of orchard trees, berries, flowers, and all gardens
• Communicate clearly with leadership and garden teams and contractors to define roles
• Work alongside the research team to support on-going research activities related to soil health
• Work with the leadership to support special events, educational experiences, and farm tours

Infrastructure & Equipment

• Oversee all vehicles and heavy equipment used for growing work including on-road vehicles and trailers, tractors, skid steer, and gator
• Ensure all vehicles and equipment is properly maintained and serviced with current and required insurance, registration, and licensing
• Oversee all growing related buildings and facilities, ensure that buildings/spaces are maintained for workplace safety compliance and that all are on a regular maintenance
• Oversee general maintenance of all department-specific machinery, tools, and equipment

Business Administration

• Lead all finance processes related to department operations and planning, including budget management and forecasting, and review of department-level P&L performance
• Track and report monthly inventory of produce
• Support all HR processes related to department operations including payroll preparation and time tracking, performance management and evaluations, recruiting, hiring, onboarding, orientation, training and all termination and offboarding for direct reports
• Support leadership with general administrative processes and content development

Qualifications

• First-hand experience hiring, training, and managing a field crew, including the ability to organize schedules for daily coverage
• Experience developing and managing an annual budget, including the ability to forecast sales, costs, and labor
• Demonstrated experience in annual production systems and creative growing practices
• Significant prior experience in organic vegetable farming at a production scale
• Capacity to listen and respond to diverse organizational and community stakeholders
• Interest in supporting research activities related to soil health and ecosystem services
• Passion for farming, local food systems, land management, environmentalism, hospitality
• An interest in developing regenerative agricultural systems
• Ability to operate and maintain key equipment including tractors, BCS, skid steer, etc.
• Openness to experimenting with varieties and cultivation methods (i.e., BCS, tractor, no-till)
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to develop collaborative working relationships
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with project management capabilities
• Self-starter who can work independently and solve probs creatively
• Ability and willingness to do hard physical work in all weather conditions
• Valid driver’s license and clean driving record

The Gardens & Growing Manager will report to the Executive Director, will work at Philo Ridge Farm, and will need to live locally. This position is on-site daily Monday-Friday, 7 am to 3:30 pm, with occasional evenings and weekends required.

Compensation range is $55,000-65,000, commensurate with experience

Qualified candidates, please email [email protected] with the title “PRF Gardens & Growing Manager”.

Please include the below information in your email. Qualified candidates will be contacted directly.

• Cover letter explaining interest in this job
• Resume
• Available start date
• Three professional references with contact information

If anyone is interested in a timber frame (perhaps a farm stand or an employee/ rental cabin), don't hesitate to reach out. I have a background in agriculture and would love to serve fellow growers.

Here's a link to photos of prior work: https://photos.app.goo.gl/dwd3wQFpZBCtqEgk9

Thank you!

Glynwood’s Working Lands Climate Corp (WLCC) member will gain skills needed to contribute effectively to the climate crisis through hands-on experience and training at a nonprofit organization dedicated to equitable, sustainable, food system change, located in the Hudson Valley of New York. By actively participating in delivering a USDA-funded Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities project, the WLCC member will play a critical role in addressing challenges in the Hudson Valley agricultural community. The WLCC member will distribute farmer surveys, conduct data collection, manage data storage, and support outreach events for farmers. The WLCC member will be fully supported by Glynwood’s program director and the Climate-Smart project lead to provide the one-to-one administrative support for farmers required to make the project successful.

The WLCC member’s activities will include: 

• Assisting in the explanation of the program’s multi-step application process to farmers
• Offering administrative and logistical support to farmers working with technical assistance and quantification support providers
• Contributing to the development of case studies of climate-smart conservation practice implementation by project farmers 
• Collaborating with Cornell Cooperative Extension to coordinate and support the new Hudson Valley Climate Smart Coalition
• Participating in community-based project assessment

Work Hours: 

The WLCC position is a twelve-month position with an anticipated start date of October 31, 2024.

Standard weekly work hours are Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm with a one hour lunch break.

Some nights and weekend hours will be required.Total hours will not exceed 35 hours weekly.

Work Location:

This position will be based at Glynwood’s campus in Cold Spring, NY.

The WLCC member will be provided adequate office space and has the option to execute the position in a hybrid role with some work performed remotely.

The position requires frequent travel to farms across the Hudson Valley. Glynwood’s company car may be used for this purpose.

Compensation: 

• $34,000 stipend for 1,700 hours work over 12 months
• Paid time off: 8 vacation days, 4 sick days, 10-12 paid holidays, plus annual office closure the last week of December
• $500 monthly contribution to a  Healthcare Reimbursement Account
• Housing stipend of $540 monthly (the WLCC member must identify and secure housing)
• One half-share in Glynwood’s summer/fall vegetable CSA  valued at $500
• 40% staff discount on all items in Glynwood’s Farm Store

Learning Goals

• Develop core competencies for working in a professional environment
• Attain working fluency in NRCS recognized climate-smart agricultural practices such as: Reduced Till, Cover Crop, No-Till, Nutrient Management, Prescribed Grazing, Forage/Biomass Planting, Tree/Shrub Planting, Silvopasture, and Hedgerow Planting
• Learn the fundamentals of soil sampling and interpretation of test results
• Gain insight into farm practices, opportunities, and challenges of small-scale and new farmers in the Hudson Valley
• Develop strategies for communicating with, and organizing, farmers
• Understand basic data management
• Understand issues related to Anti-Racism in Agro-Food Systems

Glynwood’s WLCC member will also participate in a suite of learning opportunities offered through our Hudson Valley Apprenticeship (HVA) program, including classroom and field-based lessons in partnership with the Mid-Hudson Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT). Topics covered through the HVA include: Cover Cropping, Holistic Visioning, Crop Rotations and Succession Planning, Soil Science, and Soil Testing. The 2024 CRAFT schedule includes fifteen learning opportunities on local farms, the WLCC member will be expected to attend at least five of these, of their choosing.

Essential Job Duties 

Outreach and Education: 

• Planning and promotion of two field-days in collaboration with regional partners to demonstrate on-farm climate-smart practices
• Scheduling and preparing training materials for farmer onboarding meetings to support farmer enrollment
• Developing promotional materials to recruit farmers
• Attending at least five regional, farmer-focused events to distribute informational materials
• Supporting outreach to farmers who speak languages other than English, by working closely with partners at the Hudson Valley Language Justice Collective
• Writing at least three blog posts for Glynwood’s newsletter about climate-smart agricultural practice implementation by Hudson Valley farmers

Conservation Technical Assistance: 

• Distributing surveys to farmers interested in participation in the program to collect the information required by the USDA for enrollment
• Properly collecting and storing survey data
• Supporting farms’ acquisition of Subsidiary Prints from the USDA Farm Service Agency;
• Tracking and aiding farmers through the multi-step enrollment process
• Facilitating on-farm data collection required for initiation of technical assistance
• Scheduling and attending field visits led by the project lead to support the implementation of NRCS approved climate-smart practice
   

Required Education and Experience

• High School Diploma or GED
• Demonstrated ability to maintain and organize documents digitally
• Basic use of Google and Microsoft applications for emailing, creating, and sharing documents including spreadsheets, and calendaring
• Strong verbal and written communication skills

Preferred Education and Experience

• Community organizing experience or participation
• Experience working or volunteering on a farm
• Comfort with simple graphic design platforms (ie. Canva)
• Creation of materials for social media platforms (ie. Instagram)
• Proficiency in a language other than English (especially Spanish)

Additional Requirements

• Affinity for Glynwood’s mission
• Provable eligibility to work in the US
• Drivers License in good standing

Work Environment

This is primarily an office-based position, routinely using standard office equipment. Frequently, the position requires fieldwork and travel to visit farms and other sites, and to facilitate on-site and off-site events in varied indoor and outdoor settings. 

Physical Demands

This role requires the ability to maneuver in an office setting which may include lifting files and sitting, bending or standing as necessary. Events and travel may require more physical tasks such as carrying, moving supplies, standing or walking outdoors in a range of field conditions. Every reasonable accommodation will be made to enable a qualified candidate to perform tasks necessary to the job.

Travel and Weekend Work

Frequent day trips for off site meetings/functions. Frequent evening hours and occasional weekend hours are needed to attend training opportunities and to support program events.

About Glynwood

Glynwood cultivates just and resilient regional food systems so that farmers, land, and communities thrive. We do this by training farmers, building markets and movements, and increasing access to local food for every table.

As an organization, we believe that Glynwood has a role to play in addressing racism and inequity in our country’s food system, and commit ourselves to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and access in our organization, and in all of our work. We are committed to proactive learning, orienting ourselves towards healing racism and oppression, and expanding spaces for those who have not been historically included. 

Glynwood’s offices are located at 362 Glynwood Rd. in Cold Spring, NY 10516. 

To Apply

Please use this link to submit your cover letter and resume: WLCC Applicants.  (https://form.jotform.com/242636643618058)  Application deadline is October 3, 2024.