Lead one of the nation’s premier pecan farming operations—overseeing thousands of acres, driving innovation, and shaping the future of sustainable agriculture. If you are hardworking, speak Spanish, thrive with people, and love being surrounded by nature, this is an amazing opportunity to join a pioneering family-owned farm known for its legacy, innovation, and growth.

Stahmanns Pecans

Stahmanns Inc. is a family-owned and operated orchard, shelling, and warehouse facility in La Mesa, New Mexico. We have been committed to farming our land in the Mesilla Valley with craftsmanship, integrity, grit, and stewardship since 1925. Today we are one of the leading producers in the world, and pride ourselves in growing and processing the highest quality pecans available on the wholesale market.

Stahmanns Inc. is vertically integrated and manages all aspects of the farming, sorting, shelling, and packaging processes. For 90 years it has been our mission to produce the highest quality pecans, to continually make our business more sustainable, and to provide our clients with excellent service. We are a values-driven company and seek out the following qualities in all our team members.

What You Will Do

The Director of Farming Operations will lead and develop all aspects of orchard operations across our 3,500-acre pecan farm in Las Cruces, NM and develop and manage our 1,400-acre farm in Lordsburg, NM. The Director of Farming Operations’ responsibilities include staff leadership, agronomic strategy and execution, budgeting and procurement, fleet management and readiness, operational planning and recordkeeping through AgWorld, trial work with university partners, reporting to ownership, and driving profitability.

Responsibilities:

Mentor, coach, and hold accountable Junior Farm Managers, Supervisors, and Shop Manager.
Recruit, onboard, and train staff; build bench strength and succession depth.
Promote a culture of safety, professionalism, and continuous improvement.
Ensure shop and fleet operations are reliable through preventive maintenance and accountability.
Lead weekly planning and review meetings with Jr Managers.
Oversee and direct orchard activities: irrigation, fertilization, pest control, pruning/hedging, harvesting, and planting.
Develop proactive seasonal and multi-year plans; eliminate last-minute “fire drills.”
Coordinate labor and equipment across crops and development stages.
Monitor crop health, water status, pests, and diseases; adjust programs as needed.
Ensure compliance with OSHA, EPA, WPS, REI/PHI, and state pesticide regulations.
Prepare and manage annual budgets; oversee procurement and input inventory.
Partner with accounting on monthly budget-to-actual reporting.
Implement and maintain discipline around POs, requisitions, and cost tracking.
Provide concise operational reports to ownership.
Use AgWorld to plan, schedule, and document work; maintain accurate, auditable records.
Collaborate with university and extension partners on field trials; scale proven improvements.
Introduce best practices and technology to improve yield, efficiency, and long-term orchard health.

Who You Are

To be successful as a Director of Farming Operations you must win the team over and be organized, creative, detail-oriented, strategic, patient, and hard-working. Outstanding candidates are experienced leaders who achieve success through the actions of the team they develop and organize. Candidates must have the vision to plan for the future and to enable their team to make good decisions and operate effectively.

Required Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree. Preferably in a technical field
Farm development experience
Orchard equipment maintenance management experience
Management of different irrigation systems (flood, sprinkler, drip)
5+ years managing large-scale perennial crops; 2+ years leading supervisors or junior managers
Bilingual (English/Spanish)
A passion for Agriculture
Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and critical thinking skills
Experience creating team structure and developing supervisors and junior managers
Superior planning and organizational skills
Excellent computer skills are required; Excel, AgWorld (or similar)
The ability to make decisions in stressful environments
Superb communication and interpersonal skills
Overtime will be required as with any farm job

Preferred Qualifications:

Additional courses in Business Management or Administration
Pistachio, walnut, or pecan experience
Recruiting and managing H2A workers

Benefits

Excellent benefits, plus a house on the property for your sole use, or a housing allowance if you prefer to live in a nearby town.

Business can be a powerful platform for social change, and our higher purpose is to use recruiting as a force for good to improve people’s lives. Stahmanns is committed to fostering a people-first culture — one that honors diversity and welcomes people regardless of their chosen or inherent identity. As part of this, we are intentional in our efforts to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion, both internally and with our clients.