PRESS RELEASE November 1, 2011 For Immediate Release Contact: SEEDS (231) 947-0312 Job Opportunity: Seasonal Farm Manager SEEDS, a nonprofit organization based in Traverse City, MI, is seeking a Farm Manager for the 2012 growing season. The SEEDS Farmer Residency program offers farmers early in their career the opportunity to work on an historic property to produce food for the community with more autonomy than an internship, yet within the context of an established nonprofit and the support of an experienced network of mentors and farmers in the region. Entering our third growing season, our eventual goal is to have two Residents each serving multi-year terms so that as one Resident leaves, an Assistant Resident becomes the senior Resident Farmer.  The farm, located at the Historic Barns Park within the Grand Traverse Commons, is the historical farm site that produced the majority of the food for the patients at the Old State Mental Hospital. Today it is property owned by a joint municipal Recreational Authority, managed by three nonprofits (SEEDS, The Botanic Garden Society of NW Michigan and Little Artshram) and adjacent to 400 acres of wooded park and one of the largest historic redevelopments in North America complete with a wood fired bakery, fair trade coffee roaster, two wineries, an award winning restaurant and a growing walkable community. SEEDS has management responsibility for 5 acres of land, half of which is easily accessible (the Southern Bed) and half is brushy, wet and its micro-climate is not known well yet. Other Assets: One acre fenced in and irrigated. This acre has either been heavily composted and/or has been in cover crops for at least one season. On the Southern Bed, nutrient levels are good, Ph is very high and organic matter is very low. There is some rodent pressure but little deer pressure. Perennials established include 150 asparagus crowns, 75 strawberry, 12 fruit trees (1year old), a mature mulberry tree and a handful of rhubarb and horseradish. We also have 1000 heads of garlic reserved for planting next season. We have received funding to build a hoophouse, which may or may not be completed before the snow flies. A commercial scale vermicomposter. Storage within a garage/workshop facility including some cold storage Rototiller, seeder, weeding tools, wheelbarrows, dump trailer, tractor are available. For the Right Candidate We Can Offer: Guarantee of 8 hours/week of employment at $10/hour during growing season to grow food for our After School culinary programs. With the fulfillment of 300 hours of work, SEEDS can offer a $1132.28 Americorps education award good toward future tuition, loans and other educational expenses. Management assistant position for the downtown Traverse City Farmers Market, up to 10 hours/week at $10/hour. Regular support from a Youth Conservation Corps team during summer months made up of 6 students and an adult team leader from a regional high school. This team is valued at $100/hour. The opportunity to improve land resources through expanding and intensifying cultivation and markets with the following constraints: This work is in addition to the day/week mentioned above. It will be compensated completely based on your success at growing and selling farm products. Sharing proceeds between the organization and the farmer is a mandatory part of this arrangement. In other areas of our business we share at a rate of 66%:34% employee:employer. If you seek a different rate of sharing, please state your case clearly. SEEDS will provide oversight and guidance. Additional time and monetary support must be negotiated on a case by case basis. You must demonstrate that your idea is practical from a financial perspective and include how any liabilities or risks will be shared between you and SEEDS. Produce must be marketed at or higher than competitive prices because of the unique and educational nature of our land management agreement. All farm activities need to be appropriate for the public park venue that this is and will play nicely with gardening neighbors. We are open to creative ideas. Please also reference any experience you may have working with youth, at-risk youth and/or managing volunteers. # # #    Send Proposals To: jobs@ecoseeds.org  --or-- SEEDS - attn Barns PO Box 2454, Traverse City, MI 49685