For some, the call of the great outdoors is constant. Some of those who hear its call choose careers as farmers, ranchers, or other agricultural managers. These workers have the privilege of managing crops and livestock, from seed to tomato, from calf to bull. For a more hands-on approach to nurturing our land and its animals, you may want to be a farmer or rancher. These professionals are often their own bosses, overseeing a family business by raising food, servicing machinery, and doing their own marketing. Meanwhile, agricultural managers are more likely to aid in food production by hiring, supervising, and budgeting for a farm or group of farms, rather than doing the demanding physical labor of farm work themselves. Agricultural managers are also more likely to work for a corporation or the remote owners of an agricultural establishment. As a farmer, rancher, or agricultural manager, you will have long hours, working from sunrise to sunset in the harvest season. If raising livestock, you will need to tend to your flock every day. Agricultural workers must truly love working with nature and animals for the level of dedication required of this occupation. While many farmer, ranchers, and other agricultural managers gain valuable experience and skills from growing up in a farming family, more and more farmers are seeking out agricultural college degrees that enhance their understanding of plant and animal diseases, weather patterns, and technological advances in pesticides and other machinery. From year to year, members of this profession often experience fluctuations in salary depending on the success of their crop and livestock. In the long-term, a decline in farming, ranching, and other agricultural managing jobs is projected as technology continues to make farming more efficient. However, no one will ever truly be able to take the ‘farmer’ out of the farm.
What they do:
Plan, direct, or coordinate the management or operation of farms, ranches, greenhouses, aquacultural operations, nurseries, timber tracts, or other agricultural establishments. May hire, train, and supervise farm workers or contract for services to carry out the day-to-day activities of the managed operation. May engage in or supervise planting, cultivating, harvesting, and financial and marketing activities.
On the job, you would:
Collect and record growth, production, and environmental data.
Manage nurseries that grow horticultural plants for sale to trade or retail customers, for display or exhibition, or for research.
Direct and monitor trapping and spawning of fish, egg incubation, and fry rearing, applying knowledge of management and fish culturing techniques.
Business
management
human resources (HR)
Manufactured or Agricultural Goods
manufacture and distribution of products
food production
Math and Science
biology
arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics
Arts and Humanities
English language
Basic Skills
talking to others
thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem
Problem Solving
noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
People and Technology Systems
thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it
Verbal
communicate by speaking
listen and understand what people say
Ideas and Logic
notice when problems happen
use rules to solve problems
People interested in this work like activities that include leading, making decisions, and business.
They do well at jobs that need:
Dependability
Integrity
Attention to Detail
Initiative
Leadership
Persistence
You might use software like this on the job:
Data base user interface and query software
Ag Leader Technology SMS Advanced
Microsoft Access
Presentation software
Microsoft PowerPoint
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Midwest MicroSystems Cow Sense
SAP software
Get started on your career:
New job opportunities are less likely in the future.