Career profile for Farm Manager

What does a Farm Manager do?

Farm Managers plan, direct, or coordinate the management or operation of farms, ranches, greenhouses, aquacultural operations, nurseries, timber tracts, or other agricultural establishments.

In addition, Farm Managers

may hire, train, and supervise farm workers or contract for services to carry out the day-to-day activities of the managed operation,
may engage in or supervise planting, cultivating, harvesting, and financial and marketing activities.

What kind of tasks does a Farm Manager perform regularly?

Farm Managers are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Collect and record growth, production, and environmental data.
Manage nurseries that grow horticultural plants for sale to trade or retail customers, for display or exhibition, or for research.
Direct and monitor trapping and spawning of fish, egg incubation, and fry rearing, applying knowledge of management and fish culturing techniques.
Direct and monitor the transfer of mature fish to lakes, ponds, streams, or commercial tanks.
Determine how to allocate resources and to respond to unanticipated problems, such as insect infestation, drought, and fire.
Determine plant growing conditions, such as greenhouses, hydroponics, or natural settings, and set planting and care schedules.
Devise and participate in activities to improve fish hatching and growth rates, and to prevent disease in hatcheries.
Position and regulate plant irrigation systems, and program environmental and irrigation control computers.
Prepare reports required by state and federal laws.
Maintain financial, operational, production, or employment records for farms or ranches.
Inspect facilities and equipment for signs of disrepair, and perform necessary maintenance work.
Direct the breeding or raising of stock, such as cattle, poultry, or honeybees, using recognized breeding practices to ensure stock improvement.
Coordinate clerical, record-keeping, inventory, requisitioning, and marketing activities.
Coordinate the selection and maintenance of brood stock.
Negotiate with buyers for the sale, storage, or shipment of crops or livestock.
Analyze soil to determine types or quantities of fertilizer required for maximum crop production.
Provide information to customers on the care of trees, shrubs, flowers, plants, and lawns.
Analyze market conditions to determine acreage allocations.
Supervise the construction of farm or ranch structures, such as buildings, fences, drainage systems, wells, or roads.

The above responsibilities are specific to Farm Managers. More generally, Farm Managers are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Making Decisions and Solving Problems		Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work		Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates		Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Thinking Creatively		Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Scheduling Work and Activities		Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

Making Decisions and Solving Problems

Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work

Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates

Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Thinking Creatively

Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

Scheduling Work and Activities

Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

What is a Farm Manager salary?

The median salary for a Farm Manager is $68,090, and the average salary is $76,810. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Farm Manager salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Farm Managers earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Farm Managers earn less than $35,090 per year, 25% earn less than $42,850, 75% earn less than $96,980, and 90% earn less than $130,760.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Farm Managers is expected to change by -0.6%, and there should be roughly 84,800 open positions for Farm Managers every year.

Median annual salary: $68,090
Typical salary range: $35,090 - $130,760
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): -0.6%

What personality traits are common among Farm Managers?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Farm Manager are usually higher in their Enterprising, Realistic, and Conventional interests.

Farm Managers typically have very strong Enterprising interests. Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Also, Farm Managers typically have very strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Lastly, Farm Managers typically have moderate Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Farm Manager tend to value Independence, Achievement, and Working Conditions.

Most importantly, Farm Managers strongly value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Second, Farm Managers moderately value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Lastly, Farm Managers moderately value Working Conditions. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Farm Managers must consistently demonstrate qualities such as dependability, integrity, and initiative.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Farm Managers, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.
Initiative		Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Leadership		Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

Initiative

Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.

Leadership

Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

What education and training do Farm Managers need?

Many Farm Managers will have a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Farm Managers usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Educational degrees among Farm Managers

10.8% did not complete high school or secondary school
32.5% completed high school or secondary school
19.6% completed some college coursework
11.3% earned a Associate's degree
21.3% earned a Bachelor's degree
3.6% earned a Master's degree
1.0% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Farm Managers

Farm Managers may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as administration and management, production and processing, or biology knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Farm Managers might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Administration and Management		Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Production and Processing		Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Biology		Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Mathematics		Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Personnel and Human Resources		Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

Administration and Management

Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Production and Processing

Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Biology

Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

Mathematics

Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Personnel and Human Resources

Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

Important Abilities needed by Farm Managers

Farm Managers must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Farm Managers need abilities such as oral comprehension, oral expression, and problem sensitivity in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Farm Managers, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Problem Sensitivity		The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Deductive Reasoning		The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Inductive Reasoning		The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Problem Sensitivity

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Deductive Reasoning

The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Inductive Reasoning

The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Critical Skills needed by Farm Managers

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Farm Managers frequently use skills like speaking, critical thinking, and monitoring to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Farm Managers, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking		Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Monitoring		Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Judgment and Decision Making		Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Time Management		Managing one's own time and the time of others.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Judgment and Decision Making

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Time Management

Managing one's own time and the time of others.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

Career profile Farm Manager

Farm Manager

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