Our client is a naturally focused and sustainably operated beef farm built on a passion for providing customers with the highest quality, naturally raised beef. With meticulous standards in quality control and a commitment to sustainable farming practices, they take pride in delivering a premium product from farm to table. They are currently seeking a full-time Farm Manager to join their team in the Kirkfield, ON area. The opportunity includes a competitive compensation package with exciting career growth opportunities!
Position Type: Full-Time, Hands-on, Live-in Farm Manager
POSITION SUMMARY
The ideal candidate for this opportunity is an experienced, hands-on Farm Manager capable of overseeing all daily operations of a progressive cattle and calf farming operation.
This role requires a proactive, business-minded individual with deep practical cattle farming experience, strong ownership mentality, and the ability to bridge day-to-day field execution with strategic planning, operational improvement, and commercial scaling.
CORE AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY1. Livestock & Herd Management
- Daily Care Oversight: Actively lead and execute the daily care, welfare monitoring, feeding schedules, and physical handling of cattle and calves.
- Health & Performance Monitoring: Track herd health, calf development, feeding schedules, weight gain milestones, and overall livestock performance.
- Medical & Veterinary Care: Identify and address health concerns, injuries, illness, or behavioral issues. Coordinate veterinary care, vaccination programs, medication schedules, and treatment protocols.
- Lifecycle Management: Assist with and manage breeding, calving, weaning, and herd development programs, including genetic and performance improvement initiatives.
- Biosecurity & Animal Welfare: Maintain strict livestock handling, biosecurity, and humane animal welfare standards.
2. Feed, Nutrition & Procurement Strategy
- Supply Sourcing: Source, negotiate, and procure high-quality hay, feed, bedding, supplements, and other critical farm supplies while managing vendor relationships.
- Creep Feed Optimization: Develop and implement targeted creep feeding programs for calves to support healthy early-stage development, smooth weaning transitions, and improved pre-weaning weight gain.
- Finisher Feed Programs: Develop and manage finishing rations and feeding regimes to improve feed conversion, market readiness, and carcass output.
- Nutrition Planning: Provide practical nutritional recommendations for calves and cattle to support healthy growth, weight gain, and herd performance.
- Nutritionist Collaboration: Work with feed suppliers, agronomists, and livestock nutritionists to test forage quality, improve feed efficiency, and refine herd diet structures.
- Inventory & Cost Control: Maintain accurate feed inventory records, monitor feed quality, manage feed costs, and reduce waste or shrink.
3. Business Growth & Strategic Expansion
- Ownership Collaboration: Partner with company ownership to design, review, and execute short-term and multi-year operational and growth plans for the farm and company.
- Process Improvement & Profitability: Analyze workflows and provide recommendations to improve herd performance, operational efficiency, cost control, and profitability.
- Scaling Planning: Develop infrastructure and supply forecasts for expansion, including livestock stocking projections, pasture utilization, paddock layouts, feed supply, staffing, and capital needs.
- Data-Driven Decisions: Use farm records, software tracking, and historic performance data to forecast supply bottlenecks and recommend proactive scaling adjustments.
- Opportunity Identification: Identify opportunities for expansion, process improvements, vendor savings, and long-term value creation.
4. Day-to-Day Farm Operations & Property Maintenance
- Operational Efficiency: Plan and execute daily and weekly farm activities, ensuring efficient labor use and timely completion of tasks.
- Machinery Fleet Operations: Operate and oversee the safe use of tractors, loaders, skid steers, trailers, and livestock handling equipment.
- Infrastructure Maintenance: Organize and perform routine maintenance and repairs on buildings, outbuildings, perimeter and paddock fencing, watering systems, equipment, and machinery.
- Land & Pasture Stewardship: Coordinate pasture management, rotational grazing, forage management, manure management, manure spreading, and seasonal property maintenance.
5. Team Leadership & Staff Supervision
- Talent Management: Recruit, train, supervise, mentor, schedule, and support farm hands and seasonal workers as the team grows.
- Safety Culture: Ensure employees follow workplace safety procedures, proper livestock handling practices, and safe machinery usage.
- Performance Alignment: Maintain a productive, collaborative, high-performing, and goal-oriented work environment through clear communication and accountability.
6. Administration, Compliance & Reporting
- Record Keeping: Maintain accurate, audit-ready records related to livestock data, medical treatments, ear tags, breeding history, feed inventory, machinery maintenance, inventory, and farm operations.
- Financial Accountability: Assist ownership with budgeting, purchasing, vendor coordination, expense tracking, invoice reconciliation, and operational cost control.
- Regulatory Compliance: Ensure compliance with applicable agricultural regulations, animal welfare requirements, environmental guidelines, and workplace safety standards.
- Industry Awareness: Stay informed on cattle production standards, agricultural regulations, and industry best practices.
QUALIFICATIONS & KEY SKILLS
- Experience: Minimum of 3-5 years of verified management or senior-level hands-on experience within a commercial beef cattle, cow-calf, or cattle farm operation.
- Technical Knowledge: Strong understanding of calf and cattle nutrition, growth stages, herd health indicators, and standard treatment protocols.
- Procurement Background: Demonstrated experience sourcing hay, evaluating forage quality, and managing structured creep feed and finisher feed programs.
- Mechanical Proficiency: Experience operating, diagnosing, maintaining, and repairing farm equipment, machinery, diesel engines, hydraulic systems, and fencing systems.
- Leadership & Organization: Strong leadership, scheduling, organizational, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.
- Physical Demands: Physically capable of performing intensive manual labor, lifting up to 75 lbs, and working outdoors in varying or extreme weather conditions.
- Administrative Skills: Basic veterinary and livestock health knowledge, excellent communication skills, and proficiency with spreadsheets or farm management software.
- Personal Reliability: Self-motivated, reliable, proactive, adaptable, and resourceful.
PREFERRED CHARACTERISTICS
- Mission-Driven: A genuine passion for cattle farming, livestock development, sustainable agriculture, and cattle production excellence.
- Growth-Oriented: Business-minded with a focus on long-term farm growth, continuous improvement, commercial scalability, and value building.
- Resilient & Detail-Oriented: Strong work ethic, attention to detail, and the ability to remain effective under pressure.
- Independent Team Lead: Ability to work independently while leading a team effectively and maintaining accountability.
Easily apply to join this growing business setting the standards for the industry!
Work Location: In person
