Farm / Ranch Manager

What Does a Professional in this Career Do?

A Farm or Ranch Manager manages operations at a farm or ranch. Directs crop production and management of livestock herds and supervises farm workers who grow and harvest crops or tend to farm animals. Purchases supplies such as seed, fertilizer or animal feed, operates and repairs farm equipment, and maintains facilities. Monitors prices and adapts production as needed due to market changes, weather conditions or other factors.

Job Outlook

There were 328 Farm / Ranch Manager job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 10820 in the United States.

In combination with other careers in the Farm / Ranch Manager industry, which includes the Farm / Ranch Manager career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:

Salary

Many new Farm / Ranch Manager jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.

National

The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $65,034.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $63,690.

Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Farm / Ranch Manager postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $43,399.

Education and Experience

Posted Farm / Ranch Manager jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.

Education Level	Percentage
Associate's Degree	0%
Bachelor's Degree	25.37%
Master's Degree	5.38%
Doctoral Degree	1.2%
Other	21.82%

Posted Farm / Ranch Manager jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.

Years of Experience	Percentage
0 to 2 years	38.92%
3 to 5 years	51.85%
6 to 8 years	5.91%
9+ years	3.32%

Skills

Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Farm / Ranch Manager positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.

Baseline Skills

A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.

Communication (39.79%)
Operations (38.38%)
Management (36.83%)
Leadership (24.42%)
Customer Service (23.26%)
Sales (19.34%)
Lifting Ability (13.96%)
Detail Oriented (11.95%)
Problem Solving (11.06%)
Planning (10.46%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

Agronomy (28.63%)
Agriculture (38.11%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

Animal Welfare (8.83%)
Fertilizers (12.02%)
Continuous Improvement Process (4.64%)
Project Management (6.52%)
Machinery (9.11%)
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (2.16%)
Lean Manufacturing (0.31%)
Food Safety And Sanitation (6.54%)
Marketing (13.83%)
Poultry (7.38%)
Irrigation (Landscaping And Agriculture) (18.23%)

Distinguishing Skills

A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.

Crop Production (9.3%)
Farm Management (6.96%)

Salary Boosting Skills

A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.

Farm Management (100%)

Alternative Job Titles

Sometimes employers post jobs with Farm / Ranch Manager skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:

Farm Manager
Agronomy Manager
Hatchery Manager
Agronomy Operations Manager
Farmer
Agricultural Manager
Agronomy Intern
Vineyard Manager
HVAC Manager
Custom Applicator

Similar Occupations

If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.

Common Employers

Here are the employers that have posted the most Farm / Ranch Manager jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.

United States

GPAC (726)
Hansen Agri-PLACEMENT (255)
Growmark (216)
CHS (200)
Foster Farms (194)
Lee Company (163)
Pilgrim's Pride (154)
Wayne-Sanderson Farms (144)
Veralto (102)
JBS Foods (93)

North Carolina

Perdue (21)
Wayne-Sanderson Farms (20)
Smithfield Foods (11)
Pilgrim's Pride (10)
North Carolina State Of (8)
Tyson Foods (7)
JBS Foods (6)
Select Genetics (6)
North Carolina State University (6)
Lee Company (5)

NC State Programs Relevant to this Career

If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!

All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.

Agriculture, Horticulture, & the Outdoors