Career outlook for farm manager
Figures and forecasts for roles at the same level, which require similar skills and qualifications.
Average UK salary
£33,800
Currently employed in Scotland
1,800
Five year job forecast
+1.29%
"LMI for All" supplies our salary and employment status information. "Oxford Economics" supplies job forecasts and employment figures.
What's it like?
You would run a farm as a business, so you’d plan which crops or livestock would be the most profitable. You’d manage the farm workers, control the budget, and buy and sell the farm produce.
You could work on one of three main types of farm:
- Livestock, dealing with animals
- Arable, growing crops
- Mixed, producing both animals and crops
You could manage your own farm or be employed by owners or tenants of a farm to run it efficiently and profitably. You might run a whole farm or just part of it, such as a dairy unit.
You would need excellent business skills, a good head for figures and the ability to get the most out of your team.
Depending on the type of farm you worked on you would:
- Plan how the farm will run over the coming year
- Set budget and production targets
- Buy and sell animals or produce
- Keep financial records and records of livestock and/or crops
- Recruit, train and supervise staff
- Work with vets to monitor animals for infection and disease
- Work with officials on areas like habitat conservation
On smaller farms, you may do practical farm work, such as looking after livestock, driving tractors and other machinery, and harvesting crops.
You’d also be expected to find and develop new activities to keep the farm profitable. So you could also have responsibility for other activities where the business has diversified. For example there may be a farm shop, horse riding facilities or accommodation for tourists.
Working conditions
Hours
Environment
Travel
UK employment status
Full-time
60%
Part-time
27%
Self employed
13%
Create a qualification route
We’ve found some examples of the qualifications that could help you get this job.
Discover my routeTop skills
Here are some of the skills needed for this job. Sign in to see how your skills match up.
- Delegating
- Taking responsibility
- Making decisions
- Developing a plan
- Working with technology
- Verbal communication
- Building relationships
- Innovative
- Working with numbers
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Entry requirements for courses can change. Always contact the college, university or training provider to check exactly what you’ll need.
Qualifications
Most farm managers also have a qualification in agriculture. Qualifications that build knowledge of legislation and regulations relevant to farming are of particular value.
Courses and qualifications are available through agricultural colleges and universities. They include HNDs and degrees in:
- Agriculture
- Land management
- Farm business management
- Crop and livestock production
To enter a Higher National Certificate or Higher National Diploma course requires two Highers.
To enter a degree usually requires National 5s and four or more Highers.
Useful subjects
- Maths (required by most courses)
- Sciences, in particular biology (required by most courses)
- Chemistry
- Geography
You will also need
You usually need to hold a full driving licence.
Helpful to have
Experience is the main requirement for an aspiring farm manager; gaining work-based qualifications such as a Scottish Vocational Qualification in Agriculture (SVQ level 2/3) can be a helpful way to show this experience.
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