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Farm labour vs farm worker

The differences between farm labours and farm workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a farm labour has an average salary of $26,720, which is higher than the $26,598 average annual salary of a farm worker.

The top three skills for a farm labour include harvest, cleanliness and farm machinery. The most important skills for a farm worker are harvest, mowing, and farm equipment.

Farm labour vs farm worker overview

Farm LabourFarm Worker
Yearly salary$26,720$26,598
Hourly rate$12.85$12.79
Growth rate1%1%
Number of jobs25,31925,368
Job satisfaction4-
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 34%Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Average age4040
Years of experience--

What does a farm labour do?

Also called agricultural workers, farm laborers are people who inspect and harvest crops. The workers irrigate soil on the farm and maintain their pumps, pipes, or ditches. They service and operate farm tools and machinery. Their job involves the maintenance of crops like vegetables, nuts, and fruits. They look after livestock on the farm like cows, chickens, etc. Also, they inspect the animals for the detection of symptoms of injuries or illnesses and administer vaccines for disease protection.

What does a farm worker do?

A farmworker is responsible for applying fertilizer, pesticides, and herbicides to crops and livestock. You will operate agricultural machinery under the direction of a rancher, farmer, or an agricultural manager. Your duties will typically include harvesting and inspecting crops manually, irrigating farm soil and maintaining pipes, pumps, d ditches, and feeding livestock. As a farmworker, you will operate milking machinery and other farm machinery such as plows and tractors, maintain farm buildings, and trim hedges. You are also expected to mend walls and fences and clear drainage ditches.

Farm labour vs farm worker salary

Farm labours and farm workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Farm LabourFarm Worker
Average salary$26,720$26,598
Salary rangeBetween $21,000 And $33,000Between $21,000 And $33,000
Highest paying CityYakima, WAGreenville, MS
Highest paying stateNorth DakotaNorth Dakota
Best paying companyCargillFAT CATS CAFE
Best paying industryFinanceManufacturing

Differences between farm labour and farm worker education

There are a few differences between a farm labour and a farm worker in terms of educational background:

Farm LabourFarm Worker
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 34%Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college--

Farm labour vs farm worker demographics

Here are the differences between farm labours' and farm workers' demographics:

Farm LabourFarm Worker
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 80.5% Female, 19.5%Male, 72.6% Female, 27.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.0% Hispanic or Latino, 24.0% Asian, 1.8% White, 66.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%Black or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 3.0% Hispanic or Latino, 25.2% Asian, 1.8% White, 64.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage3%3%

Differences between farm labour and farm worker duties and responsibilities

Farm labour example responsibilities.

  • Manage and oversee the day-to-day running of farms raising poultry or pigs for the production of meat and breeding stock.
  • Perform duties in farrowing unit, relocate sows, immunize and care for newborn pigs.
  • Job are to keep the farm up, mowing, weed eating, put fertilizer down.
  • Used hand tools including shovels, rakes, pruning saws, hedge and brush trimmers and axes.
  • Carry out daily milking, feeding, and field operations, twice per day, for the care of dairy livestock
  • Milk cows, landscaping, field work, lawn mowing, bailing hay, and anything else done on a farm.
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Farm worker example responsibilities.

  • General farm operations including health checks and care of calves, manage cleanliness of barns, milking
  • Manage regular routines of dairy calf sector, developing skill in feeding, housing, sanitation, parasite and disease control.
  • Care for domestic farm animals, lawn mowing, lifting supplies and feed, general grounds work.
  • Adhere to farm procedures for newborn calf management.
  • Serve as vacation relief foreman and semi trailer spotter.
  • Farm aid carrry trees to customers cars, drive a bobcat.
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Farm labour vs farm worker skills

Common farm labour skills
  • Harvest, 18%
  • Cleanliness, 12%
  • Farm Machinery, 10%
  • Farm Work, 5%
  • Drive Tractor, 5%
  • Mowing, 5%
Common farm worker skills
  • Harvest, 25%
  • Mowing, 11%
  • Farm Equipment, 10%
  • Farm Machinery, 7%
  • Farm Work, 5%
  • Beef Cattle, 3%

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