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Farm labour vs ranch hand

The differences between farm labours and ranch hands can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a ranch hand has an average salary of $27,569, which is higher than the $26,720 average annual salary of a farm labour.

The top three skills for a farm labour include harvest, cleanliness and farm machinery. The most important skills for a ranch hand are harvest, farm work, and farm machinery.

Farm labour vs ranch hand overview

Farm LabourRanch Hand
Yearly salary$26,720$27,569
Hourly rate$12.85$13.25
Growth rate1%1%
Number of jobs25,3194,309
Job satisfaction41
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 34%Bachelor's Degree, 38%
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 ranch hand do?

A ranch hand is a person who takes care of livestock animals in a ranch. Ranch hands perform the ranch husbandry job, which involves keeping them healthy, feeding them, and overseeing breeding. The primary duty they serve is to assist in the day-to-day operations in the ranch. They prepare livestock animals for slaughter or sale. They must have experience in cattle handling and/or animal husbandry. They should also be adaptable, enthusiastic, and know ranch equipment and maintenance.

Farm labour vs ranch hand salary

Farm labours and ranch hands have different pay scales, as shown below.

Farm LabourRanch Hand
Average salary$26,720$27,569
Salary rangeBetween $21,000 And $33,000Between $21,000 And $34,000
Highest paying CityYakima, WAPetersburg, ND
Highest paying stateNorth DakotaNorth Dakota
Best paying companyCargillWilliams International
Best paying industryFinanceHealth Care

Differences between farm labour and ranch hand education

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

Farm LabourRanch Hand
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 34%Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college--

Farm labour vs ranch hand demographics

Here are the differences between farm labours' and ranch hands' demographics:

Farm LabourRanch Hand
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 80.5% Female, 19.5%Male, 78.3% Female, 21.7%
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, 4.2% Unknown, 3.1% Hispanic or Latino, 26.8% Asian, 1.8% White, 62.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage3%3%

Differences between farm labour and ranch hand 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.
  • Show more

Ranch hand example responsibilities.

  • Manage habitat, predators, whitetail and several species of exotic animals.
  • Assist with lessons and summer camps which include helping riders groom, tack up and mount.
  • Relocate wheel line sprinklers used to irrigate crops.
  • Halter training fillies and colts, handling mares, studs and foals
  • Operate a backhoe to dig dirt and move large oil field equipment.
  • Clean livestock stalls and sheds using disinfectant solutions, brushes, and shovels.
  • Show more

Farm labour vs ranch hand skills

Common farm labour skills
  • Harvest, 18%
  • Cleanliness, 12%
  • Farm Machinery, 10%
  • Farm Work, 5%
  • Drive Tractor, 5%
  • Mowing, 5%
Common ranch hand skills
  • Harvest, 15%
  • Farm Work, 12%
  • Farm Machinery, 9%
  • Physical Characteristics, 7%
  • Cattle Ranch, 6%
  • Farm Animals, 4%

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