Overview

Farm Manager

Who is a Farm Manager?

A Farm Manager, also called Agriculture Manager, is someone who looks after a farm by supervising the activities of farming; tending crops, rearing animals, managing and supplying equipment tools, pesticides and fertilizers for farming, looking after the planting and harvesting process.

What does a Farm Manager do?

Being a Farm Manager, you’ll be responsible for the functioning and maintenance of farms by administering activities and making decisions.

Depending on the size of the farm, you’ll be assigned to look after the whole farm if it is small and will also be required to do manual work if needed. If the farm is big, you’ll be assigned to look after a part of the farm i.e., to maintain the crops, farm animals and the sale of products. Some key roles of a Farm Manager are –

Undertaking activities such as feeding animals, driving tractors and spraying the field with water/fertilizers
Buying of fertilizers and seeds
Planning work schedules of the employees
Planning what crops to plant, also deciding when to harvest and where to sell the harvested crops
Maintaining the environment and monitoring the well-being and safety of the workers
Treating diseases and pests
Keeping a record of financial reports

What are the skills required?

The ability to make solid decisions; maintaining/budgeting financial records and sorting out deals/purchases
The ability to work well with others
Good communication, marketing and organising skills
The ability to monitor/supervise your employees
In-depth knowledge about diseases and pests
Enough knowledge about crop and dairy production, farming methods

How to become a Farm Manager?

You will be required to have educational qualifications and experiences in farm-related activities. Any stream in class 12 should make you eligible for an undergraduate program in Agriculture.

You have to get a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural colleges majoring in various subjects as Agricultural Engineer, Farm Management, Crop and Dairy Management, Agricultural Economics and Animal Science. Listed below are some of the top institutes in India for higher education in India, providing the courses.

Top institutes in India offering Farm Manager courses

Birsa Agricultural University (BAU), Ranchi

Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana
Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Delhi
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore
Assam Agricultural University (AAU), Jorhat
Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hissar

These courses will offer 2/4-year degree programs. To become a Farm Manager, work experience plays a big role where some agencies hire employees with good work experience.

What is the Career scope for Farm Managers in India?

Apart from monitoring and supervising, a Farm Manager has other responsibilities including manual labour when needed. There are multiple job opportunities in farming corporations and firms or you can also work as a farm owner.

After your studies, you can apply for internships and volunteer to work with some farming agencies or corporations to gain experience.

You can join the industry with the following roles and slowly work your way up with more experience -

Assistant Farm Manager
Enterprise Manager
Supervisor
Farm Manager

As you progress with experience, you’ll be required to manage multiple farms. With the growth of population and economy, there has been huge progress and demand in the field of agriculture.

How much does a Farm Manager make?

The average salary of a starting Farm Manager in India is Rs. 300,000/yr. However, in the public sector, the salary will vary depending on the proficiency, management level and the region. With more experience and expertise, a Farm Manager can earn about Rs.425000/yr or more.