Vacancies

REGENERATIVE FARMING OPPORTUNITY - APPLICATION INFO BELOW - CLOSING DATE 23/6/2024

Pearson Gape Farming Partnership is a 470Ha family farm in Caxton, Cambridgeshire. Since 2016 we have gradually moved the farm into a regenerative farming system, using direct drilling, cover crops, livestock and reduced artificial inputs to improve the farm’s soils and the wider environment. As a team, we encourage each other to bring forward ambitious ideas to further improve the farm and its soil and natural capital and have a flexible business setup that is quick to turn ideas into reality.

Due to an employee moving to be closer to family, we are looking for someone to join our team in the day-to-day running of the farm. We are looking for a flexible individual who is interested in, and capable with, machinery, but equally curious about all aspects of regenerative farming and the wider environment. With significant income drawn from both Countryside Stewardship and SFI, we value the ‘unfarmed’ just as highly as the arable areas of the farm. As with the rest of the team, this role will also involve work with the local farm cluster, farming research projects (particularly with BOFIN and H3 [www.h3.ac.uk]), development of on-farm composting and liquid ‘biological’ applications and sampling and measurement. There will also be opportunities to get involved in educational access to schools alongside our market garden tenant (Sweetpea Market Garden [www.sweetpeamarketgarden.co.uk] from the film ‘Six Inches of Soil’ [www.sixinchesofsoil.org]).

All machinery operation would be shared with the farm manager, who currently does the spraying and combining but is happy to do all jobs, to share and to train. The new employee would be responsible for drilling cover and catch crops in the summer and cash crops in the spring and autumn, as well as fertiliser spreading and some cultivations. Relief combining and spraying would be possible and we are happy to train people and accommodate their interests. The machinery we operate is:

-          Fendt 724 and Claas Axion 830 (both RTK equipped) – utilising controlled traffic farming to minimise compaction

-          Horsch Avatar and Weaving Sabre Tine

-          Chafer Guardian trailed sprayer with Raven PWM system

-          Bogballe M35W

-          Case Axial Flow 9250 with MacDon header

-          Modern subsoiling and mole draining equipment

-          JCB 541-70

Applicants could be well-experienced with machinery and machinery maintenance, and preferably be PA1, PA2 and PA4 qualified but all applications will be considered carefully, and appropriate training can be arranged for the right individual. Other qualities and skills we are searching for are:

-          A passion for farming and interest in regenerative practices and the environment

-          A safety-first work ethic; conscious of your own safety and of those around you

-          An eye for detail and pride in your work

-          A problem-solver who is keen to put forward ideas and solutions

-          An understanding of agricultural technologies and willingness to learn more

-          The ability to keep machinery clean and well-maintained

-          A flexible approach to work, understanding the seasonality of the role offered

-          The ability to work from your own initiative and sometimes alone, as well as alongside the farm manager and as part of a larger team

In exchange, we offer a flexible and friendly working environment, along with:

-          A competitive salary

-          Accommodation can be arranged, in sought-after location within catchment of excellent schools

-          Training and personal and professional development to propel the farm’s employees and the farm itself forwards

To discuss the job and the farm further, for an informal chat or to discuss coming to look at what we’re up to on the farm, please call/text/WhatApp Rhys Jones on 07502251897. Formal application by CV and brief covering note to rhys@manorfarmcaxton.co.uk. Closing date is 23/6/2024.

All applications and enquiries will be treated with the strictest confidence.