We are excited to offer a Seasonal Operator position at our estate for the 2025 Harvest period.

The Estate covers 2,267 hectares within the beautiful North Wessex Downs AONB in West Berkshire, and can offer a varied role alongside the main arable operations, including working with store cattle, sheep, and organic poultry enterprises.

The arable enterprise grows a range of combinable crops, including wheat, barley, oilseed rape, peas, and oats, over the 850 hectares in a 5-year rotation. We are also involved in multiple SFI agreements, with companion/cover cropping, herbal leys and environmental seed mixes playing an increased role in our business going forward.

We run a modern fleet of machinery, including a Rogator 32m sprayer, John Deere 8RX and Massey Ferguson tractors, and modern cultivation/drilling equipment.

In addition, we run a yearling store cattle system, with the herd grazing the 236 hectares of water meadows in the summer months and finished indoors over the winter. The estate is also home to a flock of 1,000 North Country Mules, and the organic free-range poultry enterprise houses 30,000 British Blacktail hens, with the eggs sold on contract through Stonegate to Waitrose.

The Role:

The role will involve carting of crops to store using 18t trailers, cultivations (carrier, rolling, low disturbance subsoiling), topping of grassland, telehandler work (straw stacking, loading grain lorries), machinery maintenance, feeding, checking and weighing cattle, as well as general farm tasks.

We would also encourage your involvement with any of the other estate activities that interest you.

The position will run from 30th June 2025 until mid-September, but the finish date can be flexible depending on the candidates circumstances.

For insurance purposes, the candidate must be 21 years old or more by the time the role commences.

We require you to hold a full, clean, UK driving license, and a valid telehandler certificate, as well as at least one years experience operating 150hp+ tractors.

Accommodation will be provided via an estate cottage, which will be shared with a Harper Adams Placement Student.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a large, friendly team in a beautiful part of the country for the summer harvest period, and to gain knowledge across a wide breadth of rural enterprises.