What does a farmer do?
A farmer, also known as an agriculturer, is a person deeply involved in agriculture, raises living organisms for food, produces organic matter, or unprocessed materials for human and animal consumption. There are several types of farmers from those who raise animals, grow crops, and other livestock. At most, due to the advanced economy, most of them are farm owners, but there are still some who work as laborers on land owned by others. Besides having a general knowledge of planting, breeding, and harvesting, they should also need to be familiar with mechanics in order to help them keep their equipment working and running.
Farmer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real farmer resumes:
- Manage and conduct the baling, hauling, advertising, and selling of 2000 straw square bales a year from 2002-2006.
- Work on dairy farm and do everything from milking cows to working on equipment.
- Can operate excellent with or without GPS
- Work on hydroponic production of tomato crops.
- Discuss and help with farm growth CSA expansion.
- bush hogging baling hay planting seed cow castration and immunization
- Harvest and deliver fresh produce to CSA members in the Chicago area.
- Operate combines and tractors as well as use GPS for field plowing.
- Aid in greenhouse work, farm dinners, and the complete construction of a hoop house.
- Operate tractors/hydraulics, mowers, brush hog, chainsaw, log splitter, bobcat, trailers.
- Help mother in the borning process, administer antibiotics and other medicine, other duties as required.
- Transplant seedlings, thin seedlings, work in greenhouse, prepare soil mixtures, weed, water, harvest.
- Serve on hog farm with responsibilities including care of hogs, breeding sows, and weaning and immunizing pigs.
- Work with planting and transplanting produce, and take care of animals; pigs, cows, lambs and chickens.
- Operate light vehicle such as riding mowers, tractors, portable power tools, leaf blowers, sprayers and paint machine.
Farmer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Farmers are proficient in Beef Cattle, Farm Work, and Farm Machinery. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Mechanical skills, and Physical strength.
We break down the percentage of Farmers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Beef Cattle, 13%
Managed beef cattle, cut hay, rolled hay, bush hog, fencing, and general farm-related work.
- Farm Work, 8%
Operated farm equipment, minor repairs of equipment, irrigation work, and other farm work as needed.
- Farm Machinery, 6%
Operated some farm machinery including tractor and tractor attachments.
- Milking, 6%
Operated tractor drawn machinery and milking machines Prepped fields for harvesting Tended livestock Repaired farm buildings and fences
- Mowing, 6%
Performed mowing and weed eating to present a professional appearance of the Fulton Center.
- Farm Animals, 5%
Gardened fruits and vegetables, use of hand tools, collected bales of hay, fed various kinds of farm animals.
Most farmers use their skills in "beef cattle," "farm work," and "farm machinery" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential farmer responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a farmer to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers monitor and assess the quality of their land or livestock." Farmers often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "maintained records of farm operations, production figures, farm management procedures, parent stock data, finances. "
Mechanical skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling farmer duties is mechanical skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers operate complex machinery and occasionally perform routine maintenance." According to a farmer resume, here's how farmers can utilize mechanical skills in their job responsibilities: "maintain and repair farm equipment mechanically and electrically. "
The three companies that hire the most farmers are:
- Farmers Insurance12 farmers jobs
- Americorps10 farmers jobs
- Fleet Farm5 farmers jobs
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Farmer vs. Barn manager
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.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, farmer responsibilities require skills like "beef cattle," "farm tractor," "farm work," and "farm machinery." Meanwhile a typical barn manager has skills in areas such as "clean stalls," "horse care," "pasture," and "im." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Barn managers earn the highest salaries when working in the professional industry, with an average yearly salary of $30,116. On the other hand, farmers are paid more in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $34,338.On average, barn managers reach similar levels of education than farmers. Barn managers are 1.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Farmer vs. Farm labour
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.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, farmer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "farm tractor," "greenhouse," "dairy farm," and "csa." Meanwhile, a farm labour has duties that require skills in areas such as "harvest," "cleanliness," "drive tractor," and "cdl." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Farm labours earn a lower average salary than farmers. But farm labours earn the highest pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $32,950. Additionally, farmers earn the highest salaries in the manufacturing with average pay of $34,338 annually.In general, farm labours achieve similar levels of education than farmers. They're 2.3% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Farmer vs. Farm worker
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from farmer resumes include skills like "farm tractor," "greenhouse," "social justice," and "live stock," whereas a farm worker is more likely to list skills in "harvest," "repair equipment," "shovels," and "cdl. "
Farm workers make a very good living in the manufacturing industry with an average annual salary of $27,329. On the other hand, farmers are paid the highest salary in the manufacturing industry, with average annual pay of $34,338.Most farm workers achieve a similar degree level compared to farmers. For example, they're 1.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Types of farmer
Updated January 8, 2025
