Good Small Farms was established in July 2021 to demonstrate that it is possible to be a viable, mixed, regenerative small farm.  We are certainly mixed and regenerative and, relative to most farms, small.  We aim to reach breakeven, and thus viability, by the end of 2026.

The start up phase is evolving into a more steady-state phase where a different set of skills is required to lead the business. Eric, who has been running the farm since its inception, is looking to step back so a new farm manager can take the lead. The established enterprises within Good Small Farms (a market garden, tree nursery, livestock, agroforestry and farmhouse) need support to continue to grow and hone their skills while also collaborating together to be able to provide a wide range of produce year round.

To say that we are reaching a steadier state does not mean that we have stopped growing or innovating. We aim to develop our own chicken processing facility and are cooking up recipes for products that help us deal with gluts and keep hold of the value of the food we produce. We are exploring the possibilities of a production kitchen. There are plans for more ponds and tree planting on the farm too.

In parallel to the day-to-day operations, we are looking to distribute ownership more broadly while ensuring robust governance. This involves evaluating established examples of steward, employee and employee trust ownership and to start engaging our customers and the local community about that transition.

The ideal candidate will:

• Demonstrate a track record of successfully managing a team with compassion, enthusiasm and a sense of fun
• Be familiar with market garden scale vegetable growing
• Be familiar with livestock management (cattle and poultry preferred)
• Have worked in an organic or biodynamic mixed farm
• Demonstrate a high level of financial and numeric proficiency; there is no escaping spreadsheets, product masterlists, interoperability, Zettle, Stripe and the wonderful world of online procurement. This is not something we want to shy away from but to embrace to make our lives easier and our understanding of the business better
• Be a great communicator: in the end it is all about how to effectively communicate, whether this is working with the team, providing feedback in quarterly reviews or on farm tours explaining the advantages of agroecological farming
• Network: part of the role is engaging with customers, other farms, policy leads and DEFRA. An ability and enthusiasm for networking is essential
• Ensure compliance with health and safety legislation

For more information and to apply, please click here.