Market gardener, Urban farms

Title: Lead Farmer & Market Lead
Project: Land of Dreams
Location: Calgary, Alberta (on site)
Start: April 1, 2026

About Land of Dreams

Land of Dreams is a 30-acre urban community farm located on public land in Southeast Calgary, on Treaty 7 territory. Guided by the wisdom of Blackfoot Elder Herman Many Guns and energized by various ethnic community associations, Land of Dreams serves as a sanctuary where newcomers discover belonging, community, and healing through connection to the land and its immemorial Indigenous history.

This urban farm nourishes more than bodies. It builds food security, regenerates healthy soil, and honours diverse cultural foods. It also gives newcomers space to connect Indigenous ways of being with their own ancestral practices and to form real cross-cultural relationships. With 2026 declared the International Year of the Woman Farmer, we will highlight our women farmers throughout the season.

Role Purpose

Lead Land of Dreams’ production, postharvest, and sales using the Market Gardener Institute (MGI) approach. You will use our access to the MGI training program (flagship course and community) to plan crops, manage harvests, and organize markets. Inspired by Jean-Martin (JM) Fortier’s mission—high-yield, human-scale, ecological farming where small farms can transform agriculture globally—you will guide our team and mentor newcomer farmers to achieve steady yields, good quality, and healthy margins.

Key Responsibilities

• Production: Plan the season and each week using the MGI approach. This includes crop plans, bed rotations, seedling schedules, soil fertility, irrigation, ecological pest/weed control, and organizing harvests.
• Postharvest (after harvest): Keep the wash/pack flow smooth and safe with simple Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), a protected cold chain (correct temperatures), basic Quality Assurance (QA) checks, and clear labeling.
• Sales & Markets: Prepare the weekly market plan and run the market booth. Fulfill produce commitments on time and coordinate with the Marketing and Finance teams for promotions and delivery details.
• Training & Mentorship: Teach MGI methods on real tasks (including quick bed flips from one crop to the next). Mentor newcomer farmers toward steady yields, good quality, and safe work habits.
• People & Scheduling: Align daily and weekly farm tasks with the season plan. Coordinate summer staff and volunteers—with the Volunteer Coordinator—using short stand-ups, clear task boards, and end-of-day check-ins.
• Data & Continuous Improvement: Share brief weekly results (yields, labour hours, produce loss “shrink,” and other key indicators). Use these to make simple adjustments so the farm improves each week.
• Culture & Safety: Model inclusive, trauma-informed teamwork. Uphold our Indigenous relationship-building commitments and maintain a safe, respectful, and tidy worksite.

What You Bring

• WhatTraining & Experience: MGI training program (or equivalent) and at least 3 seasons of hands-on market-garden work, or equivalent experience in ecological farming.

• Production & Postharvest: Able to plan crops and run harvest/wash-pack with a protected cold chain, basic quality assurance and clear organization/labeling.
• Teaching & Mentorship: Patient coach who can teach step-by-step MGI methods and safe work habits to newcomer farmers.
• People Skills & Leadership: Kind, firm, and organized. Runs short stand-ups, assigns tasks clearly, gives respectful feedback, and aligns summer staff and volunteers.
• Tools & Data: Comfortable with spreadsheets/apps (e.g., Google Sheets) for plans, harvest logs, and simple Key Performance Indicator (KPI) tracking.

Not sure you check every box? If you bring curiosity and a strong work ethic, please apply. We value diverse perspectives and lived experience, and we provide the training program.

Nice to Have: French or other language skills. Experience working with Indigenous partners and knowledge keepers.

What You’ll Learn & Do in Your First 3–6 Months

By 3 months: Learn the Land of Dreams MGI-based system and production calendar; shadow weekly harvests and markets; begin mentoring one to two newcomer farmers.

By 6 months: Lead your own crop-planning cycles; independently run market days; contribute to team improvements and seasonal evaluations.

Apply:

• Email connect@landofdreams.earth with resume + 1-page note “How I’d stand up an MGI-style production + training season at Land of Dreams.”
• Pay $24–$27/hour + fresh food, with bonuses for new wholesale contracts.

Subject: Lead Farmer – MGI. Rolling review.

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