Farm manager

Farms take a lot of work, so you'll be kept busy in this role. You'll lead a team of workers – delegating tasks and making sure things run efficiently and profitably. On smaller farms, you may do practical farm work. This could be looking after livestock, operating machinery and harvesting crops.

You'll work on one of three main types of farm:

• livestock, dealing with animals

• arable, growing crops

• mixed, producing both animals and crops

You may manage your own farm or be employed by owners or tenants of a farm to run it. You might manage a whole farm or just part of it, such as a dairy unit.

You'll need excellent business skills, a good head for figures and the ability to get the most out of your team.

Your tasks might include:

• recruiting, training and supervising staff

• setting budgets and production targets

• buying and selling animals or produce and keeping financial record

• carrying out daily checks on things like health and safety or produce quality

• managing different sources of income, such as through a farm shop or accomodation for tourists

• making sure equipment and machinery is inspected and arranging repairs when needed

You'll have environmental responsibilities too. This could be reducing greenhouse gas emissions from farming processes, or working with conservation organisations to protect the local habitat. You'll need to help the farm adapt to climate change. For example, implementing new technologies to monitor weather and soil data.

Green job 

In this job you'll be doing work to help the environment. Find out more about green jobs.  

• Lantra Scotland – training and skills for the land-based, aquaculture and environmental sector

• The Scottish Association of Young Farmers, YouTube – hear from Iain, an arable farm manager in Aberdeenshire