What does an assistant farm manager do?
An assistant farm manager primarily performs support tasks to assist managers in overseeing farm operations. They work together with the farm manager in developing and executing plans, managing staff, setting goals and guidelines, establishing budgets and timelines, and delegating responsibilities among employees. They also perform various maintenance tasks, process documents, maintain records, and handle calls and correspondence. Moreover, in the absence of the manager, an assistant farm manager may assume their duties in monitoring operations to ensure everything runs smoothly and efficiently.
Assistant farm manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real assistant farm manager resumes:
- Manage pedigree cattle farm by; overseeing breeding production and certify artificial insemination program.
- Seed, plant, cultivate, and harvest vegetable crops for CSA.
- Participate in and oversee processing/distribution of produce to markets (CSA, wholesale, market stalls).
- 2017Execute all aspects of vegetable and fruit production from the planning and preparation to harvest and maintaining of the farm.
- Coordinate daily harvest labor schedules between grower and labor contractors.
- Implement artificial insemination breeding program and improve cattle herd performance.
- Organize and monitor inventory levels for stock and equipment and contact suppliers to schedule delivery using just-in-time supply management techniques.
Assistant farm manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 18% of Assistant Farm Managers are proficient in Harvest, Farm Equipment, and Farm Operations. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Initiative, and Mechanical skills.
We break down the percentage of Assistant Farm Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Harvest, 18%
Coordinated daily harvest labor schedules between grower and labor contractors.
- Farm Equipment, 9%
Operated farm machinery and performed routine/specialized maintenance on farm equipment.
- Farm Operations, 8%
Constructed poly tunnels, mist beds, irrigation systems, and tractors to expand nursery and farm operations.
- Mowing, 7%
Supervised the maintenance of the lagoons, the compost, mowing, brush-hogging, building maintenance, truck and equipment maintenance.
- Training Programs, 6%
Create Lockout/Tagout program, Emergency Action Plans, and additional safety and training programs.
- Milking, 5%
Followed strict cleanliness procedures to ensure a sanitary milking parlor.
Common skills that an assistant farm manager uses to do their job include "harvest," "farm equipment," and "farm operations." You can find details on the most important assistant farm manager responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for an assistant farm manager to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers monitor and assess the quality of their land or livestock." Additionally, an assistant farm manager resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "utilized gis software in planning and analyzing activities such as irrigation management, soils analysis, and crop rotation schedules. "
Initiative. Many assistant farm manager duties rely on initiative. "many farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers are self-employed," so an assistant farm manager will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways assistant farm manager responsibilities rely on initiative: "lead day-to-day management: setting daily goals with and for staff--all contributing to larger strategic initiatives. "
Mechanical skills. This is an important skill for assistant farm managers to perform their duties. For an example of how assistant farm manager responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers operate complex machinery and occasionally perform routine maintenance." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of an assistant farm manager: "maintain mechanical operation of all farm equipment including forklifts, kibota small farm loader, and pickup dump trucks. ".
The three companies that hire the most assistant farm managers are:
- Hormel Foods3 assistant farm managers jobs
- Nordstrom3 assistant farm managers jobs
- Domino's Pizza2 assistant farm managers jobs
Compare different assistant farm managers
Assistant farm manager vs. Farm owner operator
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an assistant farm manager are more likely to require skills like "harvest," "training programs," "farm work," and "greenhouse management." On the other hand, a job as a farm owner operator requires skills like "business plan," "cash flow," "livestock farm," and "business transactions." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Farm owner operators tend to reach similar levels of education than assistant farm managers. In fact, farm owner operators are 2.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Assistant farm manager vs. Truck farmer
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that assistant farm manager responsibilities requires skills like "harvest," "farm operations," "mowing," and "training programs." But a truck farmer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "cdl," "mechanical problems," "healthcare," and "research paper."
Truck farmers earn lower levels of education than assistant farm managers in general. They're 6.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Assistant farm manager vs. Cattle manager
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, assistant farm managers are more likely to have skills like "harvest," "farm equipment," "farm operations," and "mowing." But a cattle manager is more likely to have skills like "pasture," "herd health," "antibiotics," and "administer medications."
Most cattle managers achieve a lower degree level compared to assistant farm managers. For example, they're 6.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 2.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Assistant farm manager vs. Ranch manager
Types of assistant farm manager
Updated January 8, 2025
