Jobs and Opportunities

September 2024 Jobs & Opportunities (Link to attached job listings)

To signup for TOPP Jobs & Opportunities emails:

  • Email listserv@list.msu.eduwith SUBSCRIBE MISUSTAINABLEFARMJOBS in the body of the message (NOT just the Subject line)

 

Headlines!

MOFFA Farm Tours, Register here!

 

Grants/Funding 

GROW Lansing Grants $5000 for community gardens and sustainable land use in Lansing

Grassroots Guide to Federal Farm and Food Programs from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) 

MIFFS Funding & Grants list

Grants and Funding Opportunities from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) 

SARE grants from North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NC-SARE) and Michigan SARE and MI/WI Tribal SARE

  • Youth Educator Grants – Up to $6,000 for projects that teach youth about sustainable agriculture and careers (Due November 7, 2024)
  • Farmer Rancher Grants – Up to $15,000 for 1 farm or $30,000 for two+ farms for farmers to design and lead sustainable farm projects (Due December 5, 2024)
  • Research & Education Grants - $10,000 to $250,000 for on-farm research and farmer education about sustainable farming (Pre-proposals due October 10, 2024)
  • Partnership Grants – Up to $50,000 for farm educators and agriculture professionals who partner with 3 or more farmers to research, demonstrate, educate or collaborate on issues important to sustainable farming. (Due October 17, 2024)

Grants, conference scholarships and mentorships for pasture-based livestock and poultry farming on the Food Animal Concerns Trust website (App opens October 10)

Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops (FSCSC) Program – apply by Jan. 31, 2025 for 2024 expenses

 

Farmland  

MI FarmLink

https://earthenheart.com/ affordable sustainable rental housing and ag land

Climate Change Permaculture Incubator Farm

The Great Lakes Incubator Farm (GLIF) (Traverse City, MI) apply now for 2025

 

Jobs @ Farms  

Urban Farmer & Community Outreach- FT- Trinity Health Oakland

Growing Hope (Ypsilanti) Ypsilanti Farmers Market Internships 2024 – Fall Semester

Ingham County Land Bank Garden Program Contractor email Cody Mohr at CMohr@ingham.org

Slow Farm (Ann Arbor, MI) Farm Manager and Farm Hand positions

The Wegener Farm (Fenton, MI) see attached

Bassroot Farm (Fenton)

Matthei Botanical Gardens, 1 position (Ann Arbor)

Crane Dance Farm (Middleville, MI) attached

Fairshare CSA Coalition Organic Vegetable Farm Manager Apprenticeship

Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship (Several locations in Michigan) 

Titus Farms (Mason, MI)

Employment Opportunities list from MIFFS (Michigan Food and Farming Systems)

 

Jobs @ Michigan State University  

Extension Educator-Fixed (Marshall) apply by 10-3
Extension Program Worker (Presque Isle) apply by 9-26   

 

 

Specialty Crops Research Assistant — Research Assistant I (Hart) apply by 10-1

Extension Community Nutrition Instructor (Muskegon) apply by 10-8

Extension Educator for meat processors (East Lansing, Statewide) open until filled

Institute for Ag Tech Coordinator (Traverse City) apply by 3-14-2026

Institute for Ag Tech Forestry Teacher-Fixed Term (Muskegon) apply by 8-26-2026
 

4-H Children’s Garden Curator & Professor

 

Jobs @ Michigan Non-profits/Other  

Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network employment opportunities (Detroit) Full-Time D-Town Farmer

Eastern Market (Detroit) jobs page with Food as Medicine Coordinator, Food and Health Fellowship,  Urban Ag Produce Share Assembly Team and Facilities Supervisor

Allen Neighborhood Center – Associate GardenHouse Manager

Uproot Market & Eatery (Battle Creek) General Manager

Food Corps (Petoskey) NOTE: the application deadline passed, but there are several unfilled positions

 

National Jobs 

National Young Farmers Coalition

Chicago Community Food Navigator  

USDA-ARS Assessments of Soil Health and Water Quality in the Lower Mississippi River Basin (Mississippi) apply by Nov. 8

UCSC Center for Agroecology - Agricultural Operations and Programs Manager (Santa Cruz, CA) 1st review date is 10-7

Marbleseed Job Board

COMFOOD-Jobs listserv  

Good Food Jobs

Organic Farming Research Foundation – Conservation Scientist

Ag Solidarity Network Job Listings – 5 jobs posted in the last month

Nat. Sustainable Ag Coalition (NSAC) Jobs listing – 9 Jobs posted

American Farmland Trust – 17 jobs listed including Midwest Farmland Associate (Remote – Indiana/Michigan) and Illinois Farmland Protection Specialist (Remote - Chicago Region)

Seed Savers Exchange – Farm Director (Decorah, Iowa)

Savanna Institute – Finance Manager; apprenticeships on agroforestry projects; tree care in Illinois & Wisconsin

Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA (RAFI-USA) job board: Multiple open positions

 

Volunteer Opportunities  

Growing Hope's  Home Vegetable Garden Program (Ypsilanti) seeks Garden mentors who speak English, Spanish and/or Arabic are needed, garden experience required, but you do not need to be an expert  

Wolcott Mill Farm Center

We3Queens Botanical Garden – contact Anne Lynn at w3qoutreach@gmail.com

 

Events!

Sep 16 to 21 Great Michigan Compost Tour  (throughout Michigan)

Sep 21 Michigan Specialty cut Flower Farm Tour @ Forget Me Not Flowers (Ottawa Lake)

Sep 23 - Small Farm Opportunity Fair and Community Microloan Launch (Kalkaska)

Sep 25 from 2-3:30pm ET Great Lakes Incubator Farm webinar with Green Things Farm on Zoom, Passcode: greenthing

Oct 3 Grants webinar for new Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center Business Builder grants

Oct 5 Mechanical Weed Control Field Day (Turtle Lake, WI)

Oct 6 to 8 - Savanna Institute’s Perennial Farm Gathering (Madison, WI)

Oct 9 from 4-5pm Ashley Atkinson of Keep Growing Detroit speaking for the Food Science & Human Nutrition series, Zoom link: MSU.ZOOM.US/J/91335396780 , PASSCODE:FSHN24 or in-person in East Lansing at MSU in S. Anthony Hall, room 1135

Oct. 14 - Agape Organic Farm, MOFFA Farm Tour, Dansville, MI

Oct. 16 Mechanical Weed Control Field Day, Waukesha, WI

October 17-18 Great Lakes Bioneers (Detroit)

Oct 19 - Michigan Beekeepers Association Fall Conference

Oct 22 – Michigan Cottage Food Law advocacy – storytelling workshop

Oct 24 Produce Safety Alliance Training, Detroit, $100, scholarships available for growers in Detroit, Thumb and other MI regions 

Oct 26 Asibara Forest U-Pick Pumpkin Patch Party, Detroit

Oct 28 to 29 Scaling for Success: Supplier Development Tools for Farms and Food Businesses online conference for the Chicago Good Food Purchasing Initiative

Nov. 11 Produce Safety Alliance Training, $100, Traverse City

Nov 2024 to June 2025 Carbon Farming and Forestry Planning Cohort  NW Michigan

Dec. 5 Produce Safety Alliance Training, $100, Hart

Dec. 6 Farmer and Community Input Session from noon to 1 p.m., Webinar to plan  2025 events for farmers transitioning to organic.

Transitioning to Organic - Wednesday, Dec. 11 at the Great Lakes Fruit & Vegetable EXPO

Feb 4-5, 2025 - Underground Innovations, Frankenmuth, MI

Feb 20-22 – Marbleseed Organic Farming Conference (LaCrosse, WI)

 

Ongoing - Organic Farmer Circles for Black, Hispanic/Latino, Indigenous, Asian, Queer and all farmers

Ongoing - 3rd Wednesdays Organic Farmers Association Crop Insurance workgroup

Ongoing – Cottage Food Law, ServSafe, Farm to School and Food Safety Classes

Ongoing – Cornell Small Farms online courses

Ongoing – TEAMs program is a training for farm apprentices or employees by the Fairshare CSA Coalition

Ongoing - Becoming the Employer of Choice training for farm employers by the Fairshare CSA Coalition

Ongoing – Free Self-Paced Online Class for Small-scale Chicken Farmers

Ongoing – Savanna Institute classes

Ongoing - Videos from 2024 Michigan Family Farms Conference sessions

Ongoing - Free Rodale Courses

  • Transition To Certified Organic Agriculture
  • Getting Your Organic Certification
  • Transition To Organic Livestock Production
  • Hobby Beekeeping
  • Rodale Institute Annual Virtual Field Day

Events list from Ag Solidarity Network

Events list from MIFFS (Michigan Food and Farming Systems)

 

Mentors  

 

 

Michigan CSA Network paid opportunities 

  • Farmer Advisory Committee FAQ: https://bit.ly/3QaMuca $900 for 30 hours 
  • Regional Farm Network FAQ: https://bit.ly/RegionalFarmNetworkFAQ
    • The Network has funding to support the following activities in each region:
      • Field Days - $500
      • Skill-based Workshops - $1000
      • Grower Gatherings - $500
      • Marketing events/support - CSA Fair/Open House Event - $2000

Farm Sign-up Form foe both Farmer Advisory Committee and Regional Network Leads : https://forms.gle/3d5WfDfaKAA8UnEC9 

 

Farmer Mental Health

 

Michigan Climate Smart Agriculture Survey – fill out 1 part or all 5 😊
Part 1: Defining Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA)

  • Part 2: Scope, Criteria, and Measurable Impacts
  • Part 3: Farmers Perspectives & Incentives; Verification Process & Standards
  • Part 4: Integration with Existing Programs and Initiative; Stakeholder Engagement & Collaboration
  • Part 5: Scaling Up and Long-Term Sustainability; Monitoring, Evaluation, and Continuous Improvement

 

MVEG Resources page –

Detroit Water Conservation Practices Survey for urban farmers

Detroit People’s Food Co-op – sign up as a local supplier Detroit-based, Black-owned & other farms encouraged to apply

Apply to sell at Eastern Market

MIFFS Wholesale Producers List – add your farm to the list!

Midwest Vegetable Growers Network Looking for Farmers and Collaborators

Interview + Survey about climate smart growing ($90 visa gift card)

 

Good Videos

Composting in Detroit with Sanctuary Farms 

Seeds of Success webinar covering NRCS Organic Practice 823 

Savanna Institute Virtual Tour

 

 

Advocate

Advocate for a better Michigan Cottage Food Law

Advocate for Sustainable Agriculture, Food Systems, Food Assistance and ways for new farmers to access land in the next Farm Bill:

 

 

 

 

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