Director of Farm Management #8003

Director of Farm Management #8003

Position Summary

Idaho client farms is seeking an experienced Director of Farm Management to lead crop production across approximately 17,000 acres of diverse specialty and rotation crops in Southern Idaho. The Director will lead approximately five Farm Managers and hold overall responsibility for crop performance across all operations — managing through others, solving complex problems, and driving consistent execution across multiple farms and departments.

The ideal candidate has a strong foundation in production agriculture and can quickly learn new crops, systems, and technologies; prior experience with every crop grown is not required. What matters most is a demonstrated track record of leading people, managing complexity, and taking ownership of results.

The Director Farm Management and Director of Field Operations departments are separate: Operations supplies the labor and equipment for fieldwork, while Farm Management owns the crop. The Director ensures production plans are sound, fieldwork meets standard, and crops achieve company targets for yield, quality, and cost.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Farm Management

● Lead approximately five Farm Managers across roughly 17,000 acres, setting clear expectations and holding them accountable for planning, execution, and crop performance.

● Visit each farming unit at least weekly during the growing season, working alongside Farm Managers to spot developing problems and make high-level production decisions.

● Serve as the senior resource on difficult agronomic and operational issues — irrigation, fertility, crop protection, and field execution — while developing Farm Managers' technical and management capabilities.

● Conduct performance reviews, make recommendations on compensation, staffing, and employment decisions, and resolve cross-department issues with Field Operations, Sales, and Warehouse as needed.

Crop Production & Agronomy

● Develop annual production programs for farm's primary fresh crops (watermelon, sweet corn, onions, pumpkins), rotation crops (field corn, hay), and oversee the execution of a sister company’s programs for potatoes and sugar beets.

● Provide technical leadership in irrigation, fertility, and crop protection — including fertilizer programs based on soil and tissue data, and chemistry selection with FRAC resistance-management practices.

● Oversee irrigation management across both center-pivot and drip-irrigated production systems.

● Diagnose crop and production problems, identify root causes, and implement timely corrective action, weighing the economic return of production decisions.

Harvest & Commercial Coordination

● Evaluate crop maturity and harvest readiness, and develop harvest plans and priorities based on crop condition, customer needs, and available capacity.

● Coordinate harvest activity and communicate volume projections across Farm Management, Field Operations, Sales, and Warehouse.

● Serve as a secondary contact for fresh-market sales relationships and as primary farm-management contact for processing customers.

● Monitor harvest crews for quality and efficiency, and adjust harvest plans as crop conditions, weather, labor, or customer needs change.

Planning, Systems & Communication

● Develop comprehensive preseason and in-season production plans, translating strategy into clear schedules, priorities, and responsibilities for Farm Managers and Operations.

● Maintain effective systems for communicating plans and changes, and ensure standardized production practices are consistently applied across farming units.

● Build management tools — spreadsheets, dashboards, schedules — using technology and automation to improve planning, visibility, and accountability.

● Maintain strong follow-through to ensure plans and decisions are carried through to completion.

Budgeting & Performance

● Develop annual crop and production budgets with Farm Managers and company leadership, and monitor performance and costs throughout the season.

● Hold Farm Managers accountable to production and financial targets, evaluating decisions by their impact on yield, quality, and economic return.

● Lead postseason reviews comparing results to plans, budgets, and targets, and incorporate findings — practices, varieties, fields — into future production plans.

Research & Continuous Improvement

● Develop and oversee variety and production trials aimed at improving yield, quality, harvest timing, efficiency, or market opportunities, and determine whether successful results should move into commercial production.

● Continually identify opportunities to improve agronomic practices, management systems, technology, and overall farm performance.

Candidate Profile

Farm is looking for an individual with the capacity to lead a complex agricultural operation and develop the people responsible for managing it. The strongest candidates will demonstrate:

● Leadership: a track record of managing managers, setting expectations, and creating accountability.

● Problem Solving & Judgment: the ability to diagnose complex problems, evaluate alternatives, and make sound, timely decisions amid changing or incomplete information.

● Learning Ability & Technical Credibility: a strong practical foundation in commercial crop production and the ability to quickly grasp unfamiliar crops, systems, and technologies.

● Initiative: a proactive approach to identifying and addressing problems before they materially affect results.

● Systems Thinking & Planning: the ability to build scalable processes and management tools, anticipate needs, and coordinate across multiple people, departments, and locations.

● Communication: the ability to clearly convey expectations, plans, and priorities across all levels of the organization.

● Accountability: willingness to take ownership of results and directly address performance issues.

Qualifications

Required

● Minimum 5 years of relevant commercial farm-management or crop-production management experience, including demonstrated leadership of managers or senior production personnel.

● Strong practical foundation in commercial crop production — irrigation, fertility, crop protection, and field operations — with experience managing significant acreage or comparable operational complexity.

● Strong analytical, problem-solving, planning, and organizational abilities, with strong computer aptitude and willingness to use technology extensively.

● Ability to spend significant time in the field, travel regularly among other locations, and work extended hours during planting and harvest.

Preferred

● Production experience with at least two of the following crops: onions, potatoes, sugar beets, watermelon, sweet corn, or pumpkins.

● Experience with both center-pivot and drip irrigation.

● Bachelor's degree in Agronomy, Crop Science, Agricultural Business, or a related field; significant relevant experience may substitute for formal education.

● Advanced Excel skills, particularly experience creating automated and scalable planning or management tools.

● Spanish-language skills.