Turfgrass Field Research Assistant in Arcadia, Florida at Bethel Farms

Bethel Farms is a family-owned company with over 4,500 acres of turfgrass production in Florida.

Our mission is simple: "Honoring God, growing better everyday."

One of our many values is manifested through our Bethel Innovations team. This department is responsible for creating new turfgrass varieties and specialized planting products. The BI Director is interviewing candidates to join us as our new Turfgrass Field Research Assistant! The role largely involves regular outdoor work including regular mowing, fertilization, irrigation and generalized fieldwork. This also involves data collection, trial ratings, and farm collaboration.

We offer a supportive team environment with competitive pay, 401k, paid time off, paid holidays, flexible scheduling, growth opportunities, and insurance (medical, dental, vision, short and long-term disability.

If you enjoy working outdoors, innovation, and taking pride in beautiful lawns, we'd love to hear from you!

RESPONSIBILITIES

Innovation Execution

• Support pilot projects, trials, and prototypes
• Tasks related to agronomy, automation, equipment, data collection, and process improvement
• Operate, test, and refine new tools, technologies, and workflows in real operating environments
• Document results, failures, constraints, and recommendations with operational clarity

Technology & Systems Support

• Assist with basic data collection, validation, and reporting from trials and experiments
• Deploy and maintain sensors, field devices, test equipment, and supporting software used in innovative initiatives
• Coordinate across departments like Production, Harvesting, Technology, Analytics, Operations to integrate new technologies

Field & Operational Work

• Operate equipment and tools as required for trials and demonstrations
• Work directly in farms, yards, and operational facilities to test and validate solutions
• Ensure innovations department aligns with safety, regulatory, and operational constraints

Process Improvement

• Observe production and distribution workflows to identify inefficiencies, risks, and improvement opportunities
• Assist in redesigning processes for scalability, repeatability, and cost efficiency
• Support standardization once innovations transition from pilot to production

Collaboration & Communication

• Translate technical findings into practical operational language
• Provide clear updates to the Innovations Director and cross-functional partners
• Support training and handoff when innovations are adopted by operations teams

REQUIRED

• 2+ years of experience in agriculture, operations, engineering support, technical services, or applied R&D
• Bachelor’s or associate’s degree in a relevant program accepted as work experience equivalent
• Comfort with ambiguity, experimentation, and iterative problem-solving
• Ability to work independently in field-based, non-office environments
• Strong documentation and observational skills
• High level of situational and self-awareness

PREFERRED

• Experience in agriculture, turf, greenhouse production/management, manufacturing, or logistics
• Exposure to automation, sensors, GIS, data tools, research trials, and/or equipment modification
• Experience with irrigation controllers, irrigation programming, and water management
• Basis understanding of process improvement or continuous improvement concepts
• Great mechanical, technical, or systems aptitude
• Bilingual in English and Spanish

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Regular outdoor and field work with exposure to heat, cold, precipitation, and other weather phenomenon
• Regular sitting, walking, standing, bending, climbing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, or crawling
• Required ability to occasionally lift and / or move up to 50 pounds
• Agricultural environment with occasional loud noise