What does a Farm Hand do?
A Farm Hand is responsible for assisting Farmers in their daily tasks of taking care of the farm, raising the animals, and growing crops. Most of the duties involved require good communication skills, active listening, knowledge of farming, and determination to accomplish tasks as they can be tiring due to the involvement of physical work. The working conditions are diverse, and the tasks of a Farm Hand will vary through the seasons and situations, it can be unpredictable and will require a great deal of effort and passion.
Farm hand responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real farm hand resumes:
- Manage and conduct the baling, hauling, advertising, and selling of 2000 straw square bales a year from 2002-2006.
- Root rakes, bush-hogs, heiress disc plow, seeder, sub-soiler, ect . )
- Position also consist of property maintenance and repairs to include fencing, lawn care, and bobcat operations.
- Muck stalls, fed hayed, and water horses, clean water buckets, and blow out the barn
- Field work to include mowing, baling, and transportation of straw, hay, corn, beans, and silage.
- Water rice, tractor driver, big truck driver (no CDL )
- Load hay and run equipment.
- Assemble grain bins, pivot farming sprinklers, steel buildings.
- Produce various row crops including corn, soybeans, winter wheat
- Set up all GPS systems and logs in tractors and combines.
- Assist the veterinarian with the calvings, administrate medicines and, antibiotics.
- Build cooling systems for greenhouse as well as light electric and extensive plumbing.
- Time management are very important as well as constant communication at all times.
- Help plant, grow, and pick certify naturally grown vegetables for local CSA.
- Maintain cleanliness of the barn areas following all safety and sanitation rules and guidelines.
Farm hand skills and personality traits
We calculated that 17% of Farm Hands are proficient in Drive Tractor, Beef Cattle, and Milking. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Listening skills, and Physical strength.
We break down the percentage of Farm Hands that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Drive Tractor, 17%
Drive tractor, feed animals, bale hay and anything else needed to maintain a working farm.
- Beef Cattle, 13%
Retail Operations * Coordinated expansion into beef cattle and doubled production year-over-year.
- Milking, 11%
Fed livestock, prepared milking machinery and assisted with milking operations.
- Mowing, 7%
Cared for established lawns by mowing, mulching, trimming, and edging around flower beds, walks, and barns.
- Farm Work, 5%
General grain farm work and maintenance Light construction/demolition Building/removing fence rows and light mechanical work Tractor/semi operations
- Farm Machinery, 5%
Operated farm machinery and equipment Maintained and repaired all machinery and equipment Transported grains Exceptional ability to trouble shoot and make repairs
"drive tractor," "beef cattle," and "milking" are among the most common skills that farm hands use at work. You can find even more farm hand responsibilities below, including:
Dexterity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a farm hand to have is dexterity. Their role and responsibilities require that "agricultural workers need excellent hand-eye coordination to harvest crops and operate farm machinery." Farm hands often use dexterity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "operated and maintained combines, tractors, trucks, mowers, and forklifts. "
Listening skills. Another essential skill to perform farm hand duties is listening skills. Farm hands responsibilities require that "agricultural workers must listen carefully to ensure that they understand instructions from farmers and other agricultural managers and supervisors." Farm hands also use listening skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions. "
Physical strength. farm hands are also known for physical strength, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to farm hand responsibilities, because "agricultural workers must be strong enough to lift heavy objects, including tools and crops." A farm hand resume example shows how physical strength is used in the workplace: "maintained and repaired physical condition of farm buildings, fencing, and enclosures. "
Mechanical skills. farm hand responsibilities often require "mechanical skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "agricultural workers must be able to operate complex farm machinery." This resume example shows what farm hands do with mechanical skills on a typical day: "set up mowers & tractors, handyman, mechanical knowledge; operate tractors for various farm duties.wage: 8.00 hr. "
The three companies that hire the most farm hands are:
- GPAC5 farm hands jobs
- JBS USA2 farm hands jobs
- Bob Moore Auto Group1 farm hands jobs
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Compare different farm hands
Farm hand vs. Cowboy
A rider's job is to maintain a specific route or area to collect or deliver packages. They often used bicycles or motorcycles to perform their duties. Their duties and responsibilities include writing logs and reports, collecting payment for deliveries, and informing customers of new products and services.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a farm hand are more likely to require skills like "drive tractor," "beef cattle," "milking," and "mowing." On the other hand, a job as a cowboy requires skills like "medical treatment," "customer service," "food preparation," and "general maintenance." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that cowboys earn slightly differ from farm hands. In particular, cowboys are 1.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a farm hand. Additionally, they're 0.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Farm hand vs. Milker
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that farm hand responsibilities requires skills like "drive tractor," "beef cattle," "mowing," and "farm machinery." But a milker might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "calf," "goats," "ran," and "milk production."
On average, milkers earn a higher salary than farm hands. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, milkers earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $40,793. Whereas farm hands have higher pay in the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $26,443.milkers earn similar levels of education than farm hands in general. They're 1.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Farm hand vs. Rider
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a farm hand is likely to be skilled in "drive tractor," "beef cattle," "milking," and "mowing," while a typical rider is skilled in "cpr," "safety procedures," "pallets," and "walkie."
Riders make a very good living in the retail industry with an average annual salary of $42,874. On the other hand, farm hands are paid the highest salary in the hospitality industry, with average annual pay of $26,443.When it comes to education, riders tend to earn similar degree levels compared to farm hands. In fact, they're 1.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Farm hand vs. Field worker
Types of farm hand
Updated January 8, 2025
