Management

Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers

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.

MAY 2025 · OCCUPATIONAL WAGES

A wage reference for United States.

Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.

Source wage group: Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers

This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.

May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.

Median annual wage$89,900USD per year · Published 50th percentile
Median hourly wage$43.22USD per hour · Published 50th percentile

Annual wage thresholds

USD per year

Hourly wage thresholds

USD per hour

Published occupational wage percentiles · United States · May 2025
PercentileAnnual wage (USD/year)Hourly wage (USD/hour)
10th$54,320$26.12
25th$66,300$31.87
50th · Median$89,900$43.22
75th$118,860$57.14
90th$160,020$76.93

“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.

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THE WORK BEHIND THE TITLE

What this career involves.

Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.

Selected title examples

Accredited Farm Manager (AFM)Activation ManagerAgricultural Crop Farm ManagerAgricultural ManagerAgriculture FarmerAgriculture ManagerAgronomy ManagerAgronomy Operations ManagerAnimal Husbandry ManagerAnnual Greenhouse ManagerAquaculture Cooperative Marketing DirectorAquaculture Director
Expand more title examples (48)
Aquaculture Farm ManagerAquaculture Program DirectorBarn and Property ManagerBeef Farm OperatorBeekeeperChristmas Tree Farm ManagerCrop or Livestock Tenant FarmerCrop, Grain, or Livestock Farm ManagerDairy Farm ManagerDairy GrazierDairy ManagerFacility Operations ManagerFarm Facility ManagerFarm Field ManagerFarm ManagerFarm Operations ManagerFarm Operations Technical DirectorFarmerFarmers Market ManagerFeedlot ManagerField ManagerFish Hatchery ManagerFruit or Nut Crops Farm ManagerGame Breeding Farm ManagerGarden Center ManagerGeneral Farm ManagerGermination Testing ManagerGreenhouse ManagerGreenhouse Project ManagerGrowerHarvesting ManagerHatchery ManagerHatchery SupervisorHorticultural Farm ManagerHorticultural ManagerHorticulture ManagerHorticulture SuperintendentLivestock Farm ManagerLocation ManagerNursery ManagerOrchard ManagerOrganic FarmerOrganic Vegetable Farm ManagerPerennial House ManagerPineapple Plantation ManagerPlant Culture ManagerPlant Health ManagerPlant Manager

Typical tasks

  • 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.
  • Direct and monitor the transfer of mature fish to lakes, ponds, streams, or commercial tanks.
  • Determine how to allocate resources and to respond to unanticipated problems, such as insect infestation, drought, and fire.
  • Determine plant growing conditions, such as greenhouses, hydroponics, or natural settings, and set planting and care schedules.
Expand more tasks (24)
  • Devise and participate in activities to improve fish hatching and growth rates, and to prevent disease in hatcheries.
  • Position and regulate plant irrigation systems, and program environmental and irrigation control computers.
  • Prepare reports required by state and federal laws.
  • Inspect facilities and equipment for signs of disrepair, and perform necessary maintenance work.
  • Maintain financial, operational, production, or employment records for farms or ranches.
  • Coordinate clerical, record-keeping, inventory, requisitioning, and marketing activities.
  • Direct the breeding or raising of stock, such as cattle, poultry, or honeybees, using recognized breeding practices to ensure stock improvement.
  • Negotiate with buyers for the sale, storage, or shipment of crops or livestock.
  • Coordinate the selection and maintenance of brood stock.
  • Analyze soil to determine types or quantities of fertilizer required for maximum crop production.
  • Provide information to customers on the care of trees, shrubs, flowers, plants, and lawns.
  • Analyze market conditions to determine acreage allocations.
  • Supervise the construction of farm or ranch structures, such as buildings, fences, drainage systems, wells, or roads.
  • Replace chemical insecticides with environmentally friendly practices, such as adding pest-repelling plants to fields.
  • Conduct inspections to determine crop maturity or condition or to detect disease or insect infestation.
  • Conduct or supervise stock examinations to identify diseases or parasites.
  • Determine types or quantities of crops, plants, or livestock to be grown and raised, based on budgets, federal incentives, market conditions, executive directives, projected sales volumes, or soil conditions.
  • Determine, administer, and execute policies relating to operations administration and standards, facility maintenance, and safety.
  • Direct crop production operations, such as planning, tilling, planting, fertilizing, cultivating, spraying, and harvesting.
  • Evaluate marketing or sales alternatives for products.
  • Hire, supervise, and train support workers.
  • Monitor activities, such as irrigation, chemical application, harvesting, milking, breeding, and grading, to ensure adherence to safety regulations or standards.
  • Monitor environments to ensure maintenance of optimum animal or plant life.
  • Obtain financing for and purchase necessary machinery, land, supplies, or livestock.

Skills used in this work

Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Management of Personnel Resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Expand more skills (29)
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Negotiation
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Management of Financial Resources
Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Systems Evaluation
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Management of Material Resources
Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
Mathematics
Using mathematics to solve problems.
Quality Control Analysis
Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Science
Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Equipment Maintenance
Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Troubleshooting
Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Equipment Selection
Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
Repairing
Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
Operations Analysis
Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Programming
Writing computer programs for various purposes.
Technology Design
Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
Installation
Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
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Cite this page: Wages.fyi, “Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers career and wage guide.” Link to this Wages.fyi page

This page includes information from the O*NET® 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wages.fyi has selected and organized this information and added wage navigation and explanations. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Database license and attribution requirements.

Official occupation profile · Official wage reference . Wage reference: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service. Source data and publication dates can differ from the date this page is accessed.