Specific training will be provided but machine operation experience is required, ideally within the food or fresh produce industry.

This is a full time, permanent position and will include weekend cover, overtime opportunities  and good rate of pay available.

For more information or to apply with CV, please email sarah@eastlothianproduce.com

Our busy vegetable farm and packhouse is seeking enthusiastic and reliable staff to help us harvest, grade, pack and deliver our veggies to our customers across Scotland, the UK and Europe during our busiest months.

We have various temporary positions available on our farm and in our packhouse from late autumn through to spring, including:

• Field harvesting and packing staff
• Field harvest operators
• Packhouse grading and packing staff
• Forklift drivers

Positions would be full time and overtime hours may also be available. Field work is based in various locations around East Lothian and our packhouse is located just off the A1 near Haddington.

We offer competitive rates of pay and training will be provided so experience is not essential for most positions.

Our business is family run with a focus on delivering a top quality product and service so if you’d like to join our dedicated team click here: www.eastlothianproduce.com/opportunities/ to apply for a position. Or email us with your CV at opportunities@eastlothianproduce.com

Hygiene & Cleaning Team Leader

Do you have a passion for cleaning, great attention to detail and enjoy bringing out the best in your team?

We are looking for an enthusiastic Hygiene and Cleaning Team Leader for our food production packhouse who can identify, organise and prioritise cleaning requirements and ensure they are carried out according to instructions and to the highest of standards.

While the role will include general office administration duties, the successful candidate will also have the opportunity to support and be involved in a broad range of tasks including crop data input to our Greenlight Grower Management System, completing paper work for the intake and dispatch of farm goods and produce, gathering data for and producing maps of cropping on owned and rented land, assisting the technical team with the retrieval of documents and records for audits and customer enquiries.

The successful candidate must be organised, very much a team player and have a positive and flexible approach to work. They will also have strong IT skills with some experience of Word and Excel, be a good communicator and have a basic understanding / knowledge of arable and or vegetable farming.

The position is full time and permanent.

If you are interested in joining our team please send a covering letter and a copy of your CV to Tracy McCullagh, East Lothian Produce, 4/9 West Garleton, Haddington, East Lothian, EH41 3SJ or email:tracy@eastlothianproduce.com. Closing date for applications is 15th August 2017.

A farm banner and car stickers boasting the taste and health benefits of potatoes are being displayed on site at West Garleton as well as on farm vehicles. The promotional material, produced by the Potato Council, is aimed at raising awareness among consumers that potatoes are not only tasty, they are naturally salt free, fat free and low in sugar too.

It’s hoped this current promotional activity will provide a clear and consistent message to the public and help boost sales of potatoes across the UK. It will also help drive people to the website www.lovepotatoes.co.uk where consumers can find mouth watering potato recipe ideas and inspiration.

The promotional material is part of the industry’s One Voice campaign that brings together the Potato Council, growers, packers and other industry organisations in shouting about how good potatoes are. Billy Logan said: “As growers we know our product better than anyone so it’s important that we all act as ambassadors to get the message out there that potatoes are healthy, tasty and versatile. That’s why we are supporting the One Voice campaign.”

As well as taking on the daunting challenge of cycling the length of the country over the next 10 days, the Vintage Velocity team are raising money for Maggie’s Centres.

Graeme said: “We are doing it to prove to ourselves that we can. However at the same time we thought it would be a good way to raise money for Maggie’s caring centres who give support to cancer patients and their families in a caring and informal atmosphere away from the hospital environment. There are 18 centres throughout the UK but the whole concept was started by a lady called Maggie Keswick who was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1993 and died in Edinburgh in 1995 her dream was realised when the first Maggie’s centre was opened in Edinburgh in 1996.”

Graeme and the team have already raised a fantastic amount for their cause but if you would like to support the Vintage Velocity team and donate to Maggie’s Centres you can do so here www.justgiving.com/Vintage-Velocity.

The system also uses a plant raising technique that encourages a good tap root on the plants and significantly reduces the space need to grow the seeds, saving on greenhouse and transport costs.

Although there are some issues with germination rates to overcome, the team involved in the trial were impressed by the speeds the equipment could plant at, if not a little puffed out trying to keep up with it!

Overall the trial went well and it was an interesting exercise that highlighted the pros and cons of the new system.  If the germination rates can be improved Planttape could well be the future of veg planting.

You can find out more here www.planttape.com