How to become a Farm Hand

Duties & Tasks of a Farm Hand

Farm hands:

• Cultivate soil, sow crops and control weeds by slashing, rotary hoeing or chemical spraying
• Plant ground crops between rows of trees and bushes to control weeds and soil temperatures
• Construct wire trellises (frames) to support vines, berries and fruit
• Take part in harvesting operations using tractors, harvesters, forklifts and hand tools
• Feed livestock and poultry
• Prepare milking machinery and assist with milking operations
• Clean and sterilise farm equipment
• Clear away animal waste and hose out operational areas
• Perform other tasks involved with the breeding and raising of livestock, such as shearing, dipping, branding, crutching, gelding, marking and assisting with artificial insemination
• Ride horses or motorbikes to muster sheep or cattle
• Maintain and repair farm buildings, bores, fences, machinery, troughs, windmills and other equipment.

Tasks

• Mustering and droving livestock to milking and shearing sheds and between paddocks to ensure sufficient feed is available
• Operating farm machines to cultivate, plant, fertilise, spray and harvest field crops
• Maintaining and repairing buildings, machines, fences, plant and water systems
• Assisting with maintaining the health and welfare of livestock
• Patrolling, inspecting and reporting on the condition of crops and livestock
• Irrigating land for crop growth
• Providing livestock with feed and water
• Loading and unloading seed grain, fertilisers and livestock feed, and loading field crops into transporters for marketing

Working conditions for a Farm Hand

Farm hand work can be physically demanding. During lambing, calving, mustering, harvesting or fruit picking time, farm hands may be required to work long and irregular hours. Accommodation may be provided by the employer on the property.

Employment Opportunities for a Farm Hand

There are opportunities to progress quickly, once skills are obtained, and to specialise in certain areas, including agribusiness enterprises. Skilled farm hands may undertake further study and, in time, become farm managers, enter into share-farming partnerships or purchase their own farming operation. Others go on to work in businesses and government agencies that service rural communities and farmers/farm managers.

Specializations

Dairy Farm Hand/Worker

A dairy farm hand/worker works on farms mainly concerned with milk production. They round up cows, secure them in bails in the milking shed, wash udders with a solution of detergent and water, attach milking apparatus to udders and milk cows. They may also be involved in the breeding side of dairy farming.

Fruit and Vegetable Farm Hand

A fruit and vegetable farm hand assists in the cultivation, harvesting and packaging of fruit, vegetables, nuts and berries on farms, orchards and market gardens. They may be responsible for spraying chemicals to treat disease and pests, irrigating crops and selecting suitable produce for sale as dictated by quality guidelines.

Piggery Worker

A piggery worker raises pigs for meat production or for sale as breeding stock. They breed sows with selected boars, work out feed formulas, inject serum to prevent disease and clean and disinfect buildings and pig pens. They also keep breeding and feeding records.

Poultry Farm Hand

A poultry farm hand works on farms concerned with egg production or raising poultry for sale. They may keep eggs in incubators, look after the newly hatched chickens and provide them with feed and water, and disinfect hatcheries to prevent disease.

Sheep/Cattle Station Hand

A sheep/cattle station hand musters stock for branding, shearing, crutching, dipping and yarding for sale. They also maintain fences, bores, troughs and windmills.

Farm Hand

Farm hands assist farmers and graziers with growing crops and feeding and raising livestock.

• 

  Average age

  38

• 

  Future Growth

  Positive

• 

  Gender Share

  22% female

• 

  Average full-time

  46 hours

• 

  Weekly Pay

  N/A

• 

  Skill level rating

  Medium skill

• 

  Unemployment

  Higher Unemployment

• 

  Full-Time Share

  73%

• 

  Employment Size

  4,100

• 

  Employment by state

  ACT: 0.0%
  NSW: 31.6%
  NT: 0.0%
  QLD: 11.1%
  SA: 17.2%
  TAS: 3.8%
  VIC: 15.0%
  WA: 21.4%
  
• 

  Age brackets

  15-19: 9.1%
  20-24: 13.5%
  25-34: 22%
  35-44: 13.9%
  45-54: 16.2%
  55-59: 8.7%
  60-64: 7.1%
  65 and Over: 9.6%
  
• 

  Education level

  Advanced Diploma/Diploma: 4.2%
  Bachelor degree: 5.1%
  Certificate III/IV: 27.8%
  Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate: 0.4%
  Year 10 and below: 32.9%
  Year 11: 9%
  Year 12: 20.6%